


Avatar: Betrayal of a Firebender

by JadynRosetta



Series: Avatar: Betrayal series [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Airbender Shiro, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar Keith, Book 3, Earthbender Hunk (Voltron), Earthbender Pidge, Final Battle, Gen, Let's get this show started!!!, M/M, Minor Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Nations at War, Series Finale, Slow Romance, Violence, Waterbender Lance (Voltron), avatar AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-05-07 18:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 110,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14676651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadynRosetta/pseuds/JadynRosetta
Summary: The final stand against Zarkon and the ever growing Fire Nation.  Keith has only one element left to learn, earth.  Once he masters it he can face the Fire Lord and end the war.  But with less than one season to learn it and the Emperor's Comet rapidly approaching, it'll take a miracle to master earth in time, but if there's one thing the Avatar is good at, it's making the impossible possible.





	1. Your Blood Defines You

**Author's Note:**

> Final book you guys, get ready cause it's all going downhill from here. Hopefully you guys are prepared for what I'm putting into this book, seriously I've been wanting to get to book three for a while and now I'm here... yay~  
> Enjoy the chapter and see you next time.

_ Book 3: Earth _

* * *

They landed at the Marmora Base by midday.  Everyone hops down and stretches, then they wandered off around the base.  Except Shiro and Keith. They stayed and spoke with Kolivan.

“So I see you’ve found the king.  In a short amount of time, I’m rather jealous.  I wish we could find people as fast.”

“We’re just lucky.”  Shiro admits, Keith chuckles and nods.  Slav hops down, looking at Kolivan with panicked eyes.

“Hello your majesty.  I am Kolivan, leader of the Marmora Warriors.  May we provide a small home for you while you stay?”

“I must inspect it first!  Make sure it is one hundred percent safe!”

“Right away sir, take as much time as you need to find the perfect place.”  Kolivan said. “You boys go rest, we will talk about war later.”

“Aye aye.”  Keith salutes and watches the two walk off.  “Now what?” Shiro watches Keith rubbing his chest, it must still hurt.  He shouldn’t train, avoid any excitement. He just came back from the dead.

“Wanna play a round of airball?”  Shiro suggests, Keith gave Shiro a competitive smirk.

“I’ll have you know, I’ve gotten better Takashi.”  He says, Shiro airbends the ball down and held it up using airbending.

“Show me what you’ve got,  _ Avatar _ .”

* * *

“That does sound awful!”  Swirn says. The others stay in the home she was sharing with a few other Marmorian women.  Hunk was holding Kogane, while Yellow sniffs the child’s head.

“It was, spirits you could hear his ribs crack.”  Lance admits. “It felt like time had suddenly stopped, and I couldn’t breathe.  It was horrible.”

“But he’s okay?”  Swirn asks, Coran jumps in.

“Yes!”  He shouts.  “Lance used the water he got from the oasis and saved his life!”  He told the story like it was an exciting tale. Lance looks down, messing with his hair.

“Yeah… it was suppose to heal this-”  He shows Swirn the scar. “But, I can live with this awful thing, we can’t live without the Avatar.”

“More like you can’t.”  Hunk said. “You were freaking out, you actually snapped at me and laughed like a psycho.”

“Did not!”

“Did too.”  They argued like kids.

“You did Lance, you wouldn’t let anyone stop you from bringing him back.”  Coran spoke up, Lance glares at his friends like they were filthy traitors.  Swirn giggles and looks at Lance.

“That’s okay Lance, your reaction was reasonable.  You saw Keith die in front of you.” She said, Lance looks down.

“He died in my arms.”

“Oh, that makes it worse.”  She says. “I won’t judge you for acting up, you wanted nothing more than your friend to live.”  She pats his shoulder and gave him a smile.

“Sooo we gonna ignore the fact you called him “Sweetie”?”  Hunk brought up, a shit eating grin on his face.

“HUNK!”  Lance snaps.  Coran nods.

“Yeah, you did call him that.”

“Oh, that’s new.”

“I-It means nothing!”

“Shay calls me that sometimes.”  Hunk points out. Lance threw a rock at him, Hunk held a hand up and stopped it.  Lance pouts and looks away from the mean earthbender he calls his friend. Swirn grabs his knee and gave him a soft smile.

“Lance, is there something you need to say?”

“No!”  Lance shouts.  “Nothing. Not at all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure.”  He says a little more calmly.  Swirn grabs his hand, standing up with him.

“Let’s go for a walk, us, alone.”  She says. “Take care of Kogane till I get back.”  She says. Hunk salutes as in yes, Coran sat next to Hunk and looks at the little girl.

Swirn lets go of Lance’s hand and they walked together in the forest.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Y-Yes.”  Lance nods.  “I’m fine.”

“Lance, sweetheart.”  She got his attention.  “Whatever is eating you up you can tell me, I won’t judge you.  Also I don’t travel with you anymore.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Lance nods. “It’s… I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Explain what?”

“This.  It’s weird.  I’ve been feeling like this since Ba Sing Se, it’s odd.”  He messes with his glove. “I think I know what it is… but I shouldn’t feel this way.  Not about him…” He looks at Swirn, she was giving him pathetic eyes. “Okay enough about me, hows life for you?”  He switches the subject on her, she nods and began to speak.

“Nice, I miss you guys but I like it here.  Kolivan has asked some of the women to teach me how to fight.  Ilum is a great teacher, harsh, but a great teacher.” She says.  Lance nods with a smile. “Kogane likes it here too, she loves how the Marmorians treat her like a family.  Like I’m a part of their family.” She says.

“That’s good, plus with the war coming up we’re going to need every able fighter.”

“You can count on me~”  She sings and salutes to him, Lance laughs, he has to admit she is adorable.

They made it to the Air Ball court and saw Keith and Shiro were playing, it was an intense game.  Keith was way better than the first time he played all that time ago. Lance remembers that, he got an airball to the stomach.

Keith sends the ball at Shiro, the Air Nomad shows off by kicking it.  Keith stops it with air and does a backflip, as he flips he kicks the ball, sending it straight to the goal.  The goal spins. Keith sees it and cheers.

“Ha ha!  Seven points for Keith!”  He says happily. Shiro lifts the ball up and glares at him.

“Okay okay, you win.  Ready for round two?”

“Are you sure you can beat me now?”  He asks, Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t get cocky.”  Shiro said. “I’ve been an airbender all my life.”

“Yeah, and I’m the Avatar.”

“Oh, is that how it is?”  Shiro asks. “You being the Avatar means nothing.”  He says, Keith got ready while Shiro made the pitch.  Lance and Swirn watched them get into their intense game.

“Wanna cheer them on?”  Swirn asks. Lance raised an eyebrow and chuckles.

“What’s the point of that?”  Lance asks. “They’re both our friends.”

“I know.”  Swirn says.  “Come on Shiro!  Show him that being Avatar doesn’t equal skill!”  She calls. Lance looks at her and back at court.

“If you lose Keith I will never let you live this down!”  He says. The two heard them and played with even more of a reason to win.  Showing off that their the better player. Lance’s eyes went wide. Are they, men, really like this?

“You’ve got this Shiro, he’s getting tired!”  Swirn calls, Lance smirks.

“I swear Mullet, you’d better not lose to someone who’s not a master!”  He calls to him. Swirn giggles as they kept playing.

“They’re trying to show off now.”  She says. Lance watches and chuckles.

Shiro was juggling the ball and launched it at Keith, the Avatar caught it with a smirk.  He throws it in the air then sent it Shiro’s way with a powerful kick. While Shiro was arm strength, Keith was powerful all round, but his legs were a great way to get the advantage over Shiro.

“Beat him Shiro, you can do this!”  Swirn shouts, Shiro winks at her and launched the ball at Keith, he rolls his eyes and sent it back at Shiro with one hard throw.  Shiro caught it.

“You’ve got this Sweetie!”  Lance calls, Keith stops and looks over at Lance with wide eyes.

“W-What?”  He asks, then got hit square in the jaw with the ball.  He fell off and hit the ground with a thud. Lance and Swirn cover their mouths in surprise, Shiro points and laughs, then he lost balance and fell off.  An ‘ow’ came from him.

“You okay?”  Lance asks walking up to him.  Keith quickly got up, dusting himself off and trying to look good.  He felt so embarrassed, he messed up completely and looked like an idiot.

“I-”  His voice cracked, even better.  “I’m good.” Keith said. He wanted to hit himself in the face, repeatedly.  Lance smiles and walks away with Swirn. As soon as he was gone he groans and started punching his head.

Shiro walks by and chuckles.  Keith glares at him, he did not need Shiro’s “friendly” input on this whole situation, that situation being Keith is a total loser and cannot for the life of him look cool in front of his crush.

They made it back to the base and saw that Slav had already found a home for himself and was already redecorating it, even the straight faced Kolivan couldn’t take Slav’s crap.  He was already done and wanting the king to go away.

“You… you had to deal with him… for an entire day.”  He says to Shiro, the airbender smirks.

“Yep and you’ll have to deal with him till the war is over and we take control over Ba Sing Se.”

“Are you kidding me?”  He asks. Shiro snickers.

“Yeah, have fun.”  Shiro was already hopping onto Black.  Swirn runs up with sad eyes.

“You guys are already leaving?”  She asks, Shiro stops climbing on Black and nods.

“We can’t stay, we can’t endanger you guys.”  He says. “This is why we don’t stay in one place for too long.”

“Aw.  You guys just got back though.”  She says, everyone walks up and got ready to go.  Swirn watches them then pouts. “Alright boys, line up.”  She tells them. “Don’t argue, line up. Come on.” She says.

They all lined up, Coran was the first one in line, she walks up and gave him a kiss on his cheek, then to Shiro, Keith, Lance, Hunk.  She backs off and smiles.

“You all be safe out there.”

“Yes, Mom.”  Shiro teases, she smacks the airbender playfully and watches them go.  They waved bye to the base, and goodbye to a sad Kolivan who will have to put up with the king for a long while.

“So where now?”  Hunk asks.

“Now?  Now I think we need to seriously lay low and think about what our options are.”  Shiro said. “Keith still needs to learn earth, and it seems like the Fire Nation is desperate to catch him… or worse.”  He looks at all his friends. “We should wait for all this chaos to die down.”

“Sounds like a plan, but where do we hide?”  Coran asks. “The whole world is covered by Fire Nation surveillance.”

“I know one place they’d never think to look.”  Shiro says with a smile. He leads Black straight through the mountains.

* * *

They made it to their destination in about two hours time, Keith looks over Shiro’s shoulder and eyes grew wide.

“What is this place?”

“The place where I was born, the Southern Air Temple.  Currently abandoned due to the war, so a perfect place to hide out.”  He said as they landed. “You can only get up here with either a bison, or airbending.  No clue how the Fire Nation got up here… but since they’ve already attacked this place it’d be the perfect spot for us to rest.”

The rest of the team looks around and sees the entire ruins of the temple, Lance looks at Hunk.

“Race ya to the top!”

“Wait no!  I don’t wanna earthbend here!  Lance slow down!” He whines. Coran decides to have a peaceful walk and take in the sights, the Air Nomads were quite unique with their architecture.  Keith walks around and looks, the place seemed nice.

_ -itor. _

“Huh?”  Keith looks around, he started feeling uneasy, grabbing his necklace and rubbing the stones.  Shiro pats Keith’s shoulders and gave him a soft smile, Keith takes it and walked alongside Shiro.  Shiro seemed so accustomed to walking around the temples, Keith was tripping over every stupid branch laying around.  Meanwhile Lance was cheering at the top, Hunk made it and pushed him out of spite.

“There’s where we can rest.  Come on.” They walked into the temples and saw a few burnt beds and paintings, it looked like a warzone.

“This place looks awful.”

“Just be glad most of us made it out.”  He said. “This way.” Shiro lead them to a nicer side of the temple.  “We have a few floors so choose where you want to sleep for a while.”

“How long do you plan on staying?”  Keith asks, Shiro looks at Keith with a serious expression.

“We need to take a small break, after that attack we barely got away, and we lost you.  You need to let your body heal after that mess.” He said. Keith nods and walks to a random room on the first floor.

Lance and Hunk ran upstairs like excited children and found rooms on the second floor, Coran took a room below Hunks, Shiro took a room that had a large window so Black could see him.  The whole temple was pretty quiet and relaxing. The team had to admit, it was nice.

Keith lays on the tattered bed and watches the sunset luminate his room from the window.  He pulls his notebook out and looks through his sketches he’s made since the start of his journey.  The first one was Black, all big and fuzzy.

Then a sketch of Shiro flying, Keith messed up on his hair, but all in all it looked nice.  The next one was Shiro standing with Black, petting the bison’s fur. A sketch of Kolivan, Keith thought he’d be fun to draw.  A drawing of snow. A drawing of Lance and Shiro back to back. Another one of Black, he was sleeping.

A drawing of the landscape when they were in the Great Divide.  A drawing of Lance holding up the necklace he made. Another one of Shiro pouting, Keith chuckles at that one.  One of Lance and Shiro talking, Shiro was standing next to Black while Lance was on top and leaning down.

A drawing of Lance touching the iceberg, Keith remembers drawing that one.  One of Allura, she was standing and talking to Blue. Her mice were a struggle since they were so tiny.  Tui and La, Keith had a hard time coloring in La completely, also water is not his strong suit. Lance and the flower crown, when they were with Hira.

A drawing of the landscape in the Earth Kingdom, looked decent.   One of Lance playing with Toto. One of Shiro and Sven standing and talking, he wanted to draw them cause they looked alike.  Tui’s spirit form, he tried his best from memory. She looked beautiful. Lance sleeping, creepy but he still finished it.

One of Coran twirling his moustache.  Another one of Coran and Shiro working on the flying machine while Lance was waterbending.  Hunk and Yellow, the next page just Yellow staring right at Keith. Yellow was the perfect model, cat’s barely move.  One of Lance just staring at the sky.

A drawing of Swirn holding Kogane, he really likes that one.  The drawing of Lance in his disguise, he tried his best to get every detail, hoping to recreate what he saw.  The last one was Coran and Lance working on the flying machine.

Twenty eight drawings, he smiles and held the journal close.  All of those sketches were memories, happy ones. He’s very thankful that he’s a part of this journey, his role doesn’t seem to affect much.  Yeah he’s the Avatar, but so what? He gets to meet so many wonderful friends and hopefully more as time goes on.

* * *

_ Such happy memories, are you sure they’re going to last? _

_ “What?”  Keith hears someone talking to him. _

_ You cannot escape who you truly are.  You have the blood of a killer in you, it’s inevitable.  But who are you going to kill? _

* * *

The morning sun rolls in, waking Keith from his slumber.  He grumbles and turns away, too comfortable and tired to move.  He hears his friends running around outside, doing who knows what.  He mumbles a bit, violet eyes slowly opening. He walks to the window and sees Hunk and Lance playing some sort of odd game.  They were on the ground below the temple, made Keith feel like he was on a higher level.

Lance notices him and waves at him from the ground.

“Keith!  Get your shirt on and come hang out with us!”  He shouts, Keith smirks. He rolls his eyes and walked around his room.  He picks up his shirt and wraps it around his torso, grabbing his brown sash to keep the top together.  He picks up his sandals and walks outside.

Shiro was hanging around the entrance, he was practicing his airbending.  Coran was on another piece of ground and working on his flying machine. Keith walks down to where Hunk and Lance were goofing off.  They see him and wave him over, Hunk fills him in.

“Okay, so here’s what Lance and I are playing.”  He starts. “We’re doing things like seeing who can get one of those large peaches to the finish line we made out of sticks there, first.  The catch is, you have to use bending to get it over.”

“Okay.”  Keith nods.

“You wanna play?”

“Sure.”  Keith says happily, Lance steps in.

“Okay, but you can only use one form of bending.  Got it?”

“Okay okay, I got it.”  He says, Lance smiles and walks to the start like.  Placing another giant peach down. The three line up.

“Ready…”  Hunk says, everyone got into position.  “Get set…” … … “GO!”

Hunk made an earthwave under his peach, Lance used a waterwhip to carry the peach.  However their efforts were useless cause Keith used one powerful airblast and shot the peach to the other side, as well as nearby rocks and plants.  Both boys look at Keith, he had a smug smile on his face.

“I win~”

“I forget how powerful he is sometimes.”  Lance comments, Hunk was just staring at Keith with the most surprised face.

“Any other games?”  Keith asks, the other two look at one another.  They had another in mind.

“Racing.”  Hunk says. “Use bending to get to the otherside of this hill.”

“Really?”  Keith asks.  Hunk nods.

“Ready…”  Everyone got into position.  “Get set…” Silence. “GO!”

Hunk creates an earthwave under him and went off.  Lance used something quite new that no one has seen.  He started running then used the water in his skin sack to make an ice trail, then hops on and started sliding.  He kept circling the water to continue the trail. Again it was useless, Keith started firebending, using jet propulsion.  He shot right past the two.

They reached the end and saw Keith standing there proudly.  Lance walks up to him and points an accusing finger.

“You can’t use more than one!”

“I thought I could change it between games.”  Keith said with a smug smile. Lance tried to think of something to comeback with, he has nothing.  He storms off in a hissy fit. Sore loser. Hunk was just too shocked at Keith’s power.

“Seriously… how strong are you?”  He asks. Keith shrugs.

“I don’t know, pretty strong?”  Keith says. “I don’t know my full potential yet, maybe when I master all four elements I’ll know.”

“It’s weird that what you just did is not your full potential.  Gives me anxiety.”

“Heh, sorry buddy.”  Keith says. “Any other games?”

“I can’t think of any that would be fair.”

“Oh, no fun.”

* * *

The day rolls by, Keith lays back.  Shiro walks by his room, he peeks in and looks at the Avatar.

“Goodnight Keith.”

“Night.”  Keith says and turns away from the door, watching the sun disappear.  He slowly closes his eyes and felt himself relax.

* * *

_ “Don’t you feel it?” _

_ “Feel what?”  Keith asks. _

_ “The life you’ve taken away?  What you’ve done?” _

_ “What… what did I take away?” _

_ “You should know, you’re people killed her, you were her.  You died here, remember?” He heard the random voice ask. Then fire surrounded the temple.  He saw Trigel sitting in the middle of the flames, holding a smaller body close. She was weeping, Keith could clearly see the tears. _

_ Then she looks up at the larger figure before her.  Keith’s eyes grew wide… Zarkon. She ran at him, using all she could to kill him.  Fire goes by Keith’s vision, then he sees a spear going straight through Trigels head.  Keith gasps at the image. _

_ The fire goes by again, then Zarkon was right in front of him.  Keith screams and falls backwards. The man was giant, his brown eyes piercing into Keith’s soul. _

_ “Look at what your kind has done.”  He tells Keith. The Avatar shook his head. _

_ “N-No, I didn’t… I didn’t do this!”  Keith says in a panic. _

_ “The blood of the Fire Nation flows through you.”  He says in a low voice. “This is where you belong.  In the Fire Nation, serving me.” _

_ “This isn’t… it isn’t right!” _

_ “Listening to that monk is making you weak.”  Zarkon said. “You betrayed your own nation. Bringing shame to your blood, dishonoring your family.”  Keith starts to crawl away, Zarkon walks after him. _

_ “I-I…” _

_ “No one from your own nation trusts you anymore, you’ve turned your back on your family, on your own nation.  Your home.” _

_ “No… I didn’t.”  He started to cry, fear consuming him. _

_ “If you won’t serve by my side, then you will perish!”  Zarkon starts to firebend right at Keith. He quickly covers his face and screams in terror. _

* * *

Keith shot awake.  Breathing heavily. Damn… that was scary.  He looks outside, stars dust the black and blue sky, the moon a nice crescent shape, still in the Air Temples.  He walks outside, hoping the cool mountain air can calm him down. Once he was outside that feeling he had when he first came to the temples was back, that odd, uncomfortable feeling.

“Can’t sleep either?”  Keith jumps and turns to see Coran walking out in nicer looking pajamas.

“Bad dream.”  He says. Coran nods and stood next to him.

“Why don’t you put a shirt on.  We don’t want you getting sick.”  He says as he pats Keith’s bare chest.  Keith looks down at his hand then chuckles.

“Thanks but… I kind of want to feel the cool air, helps me relax.”

“Suit yourself.”  Coran said, he looks up at the sky, then sighs.  “Well, figures he’d be out.” He says, Keith looks up and sees Lance sitting at the top of the temple.  He was staring at the moon, like usual. He sees them down below, waving happily.

Keith and Coran wave back and go back to talking.

“I’m gonna go for a bit of a walk, don’t stay out too late.”  He says before walking away.

“Yeah, night Coran.”

“Goodnight.”  He says before walking off.  Keith just walks around the Air Temple, wanting to get rid of that feeling inside of him.

Everything felt weird, he didn’t know what to do.  And that dream… that awful dream. He saw Trigel die, the whole temple burned.  Where he’s walking… this is where he died as Trigel. Keith shook his head and kept walking around.

Then, like a sudden tug on his body, he was walking to a random area.  Like someone was pulling at his arm, wanting to show him something. His walking turned into pacing, he was growing impatient.

He had to get to it, whatever it was.  He had no clue what he’s walking towards, but something deep down was telling him, screaming at him, to get to it.  To see.

He goes through a tunnel and finally to a large door.  It had two horns on it, Keith slowly looks up at it. He looks around at the door, he tries to open it.  It was too heavy. He looks at the door again, looking at the giant horns.

“That’s how I get in…”  He realizes that the horns are the key to get in, however you need to be a very powerful airbender to open them… not a problem.

He backs up and moves quickly.  Sending a powerful airblast right at the door, into the horns.  A loud call of the horns echo through the entire Air Temple. Then slowly open before Keith.  He looks in and his eyes grow wide. Slowly walking in and seeing something that just terrified, yet fascinated him.

Statues, many many statues of people.  He walks around and looked at all of them, they all had a name and a unique design.  He felt connected to them, yet he’s never seen them or has anything to do with him. He walks to one end and stops at one… one from the Fire Nation.  Keith’s breath quickens and he looks at everyone. Walking down the line and speaking to himself.

“Fire… air… water… earth.  Fire, air, water, earth…” He started running down.  “Fire, air, water, earth, fire, air, water, earth! Fireairwaterea-”  He stops at the last one, his eyes grew wide at the statue, he recognizes them, they had no name on their statue… but he knew them.

“T-Trigel…”  He looks at all the statues.  “They’re… they’re me. My past lives!”  The statues were in order, the Avatar Cycle.  Keith looks around in horror, this… this is what was calling him.  Why did they have this?! They went up to the ceiling and to the floor.  Rows of statues, all Avatars before him.

The weird voice comes back, now voices.  Whispering to him.

_ Blood of the Fire Nation. _

_ Traitor. _

_ You cannot escape where you’re from. _

_ Your father is in prison because you couldn’t hide your true self. _

_ You will never be a worthy Avatar like them. _

_ Traitor. _

_ You lost everything because your the Avatar. _

_ Your mother is gone because of you. _

_ Traitor! _

_ They wouldn’t care about you if you were still some orphan. _

_ You will lose everyone you love, you will betray them. _

**_TRAITOR!_ **

Keith screams, his eyes go white.  Entering his Avatar State in fear, air surrounding him, trying to keep himself safe.  The eyes of the statues glow along with his, everything in the room illuminates. From every corner of the world places lit up, the oasis, a temple in the Earth Kingdom, and a temple on a volcano in the Fire Nation.  Signaling that the Avatar has entered again.

Someone runs in, fighting against the wind and holds him, trying to talk to him.

“Keith!”  The person spoke up.  “It’s okay, it’s okay!  Calm down!” The air lessens, but Keith is still freaking out.  “Shh, Keith. I’m here now, it’s okay.” Keith’s eyes go back, he slowly looks up and sees Shiro in front of him.

“S-Shiro?”  He asks softly, the air around him finally dying down.  “Shiro… Shiro!” He hugs him and cries. “I- how did you-?”

“Lance heard you screaming, he ran to me and said that you were in trouble, also some random temple is glowing.”  He held Keith close, letting the younger boy whimper. “You… you need to get out of here.”

“Traitor… traitor… traitor-”

“Who?”

“Me.”  Keith whimpers and went back to repeating the word.

“No, no you are not.”  Shiro pulls Keith away and gave him a smile.  “You are not a traitor.”

“I am, they keep telling me.  They’re talking to me-”

“Keith-”

“I’m gonna hurt you, all of you.  I’ve lost everyone I’ve cared about because of who I am, I’m gonna hurt you.  I’m-”

“Then hurt me.”  Shiro said. Keith looks at Shiro, he didn’t move.

“I-I no… no.”

“If you believe you are going to hurt me, then do it.”  Keith remained motionless. Shiro smiles. “You aren’t going to hurt me, or anyone.  Because you aren’t going to betray us.” He pulls Keith in for another hug.

“I don’t know what you heard, or who’s talking to you.  But whoever they are, don’t listen to them, okay?” He asks, Keith looks at him and nods.

“Okay.”  He was still unsure, he doesn’t know what will be in the future.  He doesn’t know what will come up or how this journey is going to play out from here.

They walked back to the temple when the sun was rising, everyone was awake and waiting for him.  As soon as Keith walked up they all walked to him to check if he was okay. Keith had to push everyone away, reassuring them that he’s fine.

However what the whispers said still haunt him, and will most likely not end.  Traitor, that word rang in his head over and over. The thought of doing that to his friends and loved ones, betraying them and leaving them to die.  He doesn’t want that, he’d never hurt them. But again, he doesn’t know what will happen in the future. And that thought scares him.


	2. It's Okay Now

Their little break from it all did not go exactly as planned, in fact it was worse.  After Keith’s meltdown they all decided to leave. They climbed onto Black and watched the temples fade into the clouds.  Keith leans against Shiro’s back, trying to find comfort from the older man’s touch. Shiro looks back at him and sighs.

“I’m sorry Keith, I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

“It’s fine.”  Keith moves away from his back and sat next to him.  “I should’ve told you how I felt earlier. I felt uncomfortable being there…”  He tells him. “I just want to get back to the Earth Kingdom and start training.”

“Aye aye.”  Shiro said. Meanwhile the other three were silently watching everything go by.  What happened was quite eventful… these guys will never relax till this war is over.  And they hate that idea. But it’s the sad truth they’ll have to put up with.

* * *

“Now throw your arms up like this.”  Hunk says, throwing his arms up, creating a wall.  “See?”

“Like this?”  Keith made a few rocks jump.  Keith just stares at the ground.  “I got this.” A few jump. “I got this.”  Again. “... I don’t got this.” He admits.  Lance was sitting on a rock on the sidelines watching.

“At least you’re making some progress, unlike water.”

“Water was hard.”  Keith says. “Earth I can kind of get.  I mean I can sense things by using the ground so I have an idea of it.”  He tells them. Hunk seemed very impressed and nods.

“You can already see by using earthbending?”  Hunk asks. “Took me years to master that.”

“I did it before, when we were trying to find the library.”  He says. Lance gave a disgusted look.

“Can we agree never to talk about that place ever again?”  He asks, Keith chuckles.

“Hey, you were the one who seperated us.”

“Oh, sorry I wanted to keep you alive.”  He sassed. Hunk looks at the two.

“Can we get back to making a wall?”

“Sure.”  Keith said.  “Does this have a specific term or name?”

“I’m sure, I just call it wall.”  Hunk admits. Keith just looks but nods.  It was technically a wall so why call it something complex?  They tried again, but nothing. A few seconds in and Yellow walks up, hopping on Hunk’s shoulder.

“Hm?”  He looks at his cat.  “Oh, is it really time?”

“Time?”  Keith asks.

“Sorry, Yellow has learned my schedule.  He’s reminding me that I cook lunch about this time.  We can continue later.”

“What?!”  Keith snaps.  That sounded ridiculous, also how smart is that cat?!  He pouts and sat on a rock. Lance was playing with the water he had to amuse himself.  The two sat there silently.

“You need to relax.  You’re already learning the advance techniques, you’ll get earthbending down in no time.”

“Says you, I barely got the basics down.”  Keith says. Lance rolls his eyes and puts the water away.

“Looks like a bunch of stomping to me.”  He says. “How hard can it be?”

“Shut up, you aren’t the Avatar.  You don’t have to master all the elements.”  Keith says in a harsh tone. Lance gave a competitive smirk.

“Yeah, I guess you can’t do it.”  He says, Keith quickly shot him a glare.  Lance continues. “For someone who has to learn all the elements, you suck at your job.”

“I’LL SHOW YOU!”  Keith stood and stomps hard, creating a towering wall, Lance was on top of it.  He squeaks as it went up. Keith’s anger subdued when he saw what he had done. He gasps and looks at the wall in a panic.  “Oh my spirits… I am so sorry Lance, I-”

He was cut off when he heard Lance laughing from the top.  Keith quickly lowers the wall and Lance falls with it. Keith caught him and helped ease him down, Lance was laughing the entire time.

“Knew you could do it.”  He says in a playful voice.  Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Really now?”

“Yeah.”  Lance got out of his grip and smiles.  “I had to egg you on somehow. You tend to do better when someone’s insulting you.  Makes you want to show off, and with the height of that wall you definitely proved me wrong.  Though I didn’t doubt you.” He gave a playful smile. Keith shoves him, but was laughing.

“You’re a jerk.”

“Hey I believed in you!  I just know how to get you out of you to actually do it.”  Lance says. Keith kept pushing him, but laughter didn’t stop.  “Stop pushing me!”

“You can be encouraging!”

“Then you won’t ever accomplish anything!”  Lance says. “I’ll praise you when you do something, and do it right.”

“Didn’t I do the wall right?”

“Yes, and I said I knew you could do it.”  Lance went back and sat on the rock that stayed in tact.  “Now shut up and take my praise.” Keith huffs, still smiling, and sat down again.  Lance went back to playing with the water.

Keith watches Lance for a second, then he thought of what happened back at the temples.  What the voices kept saying.

“Hey Lance…”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”  Lance said, still looking at the water around him.  Keith messes with his hands and looks down.

“Do you think… I’m a traitor?”  He asks, Lance stops and slowly looks at him.

“What?”

“Do you think I’m a-”

“No no no, don’t repeat it.”  Lance said. “What’s wrong? Why are you asking that question?”  He asks.

“Just, what’s your answer?”

“No, no I don’t think you’re a traitor.”  Lance said, he looked confused and dumbfounded.  “What is wrong with you? Don’t ask something so stupid.”

“It’s not a stupid question!”  Keith says in an offended tone.

“Yes it is, why would you-”  Lance stops and looks at him with a more concerned look.  “Wait… this is about what happened at the temple, isn’t it.”  He says in a serious tone. Keith looks down and nods.

“I had nightmares and heard… voices.”  Keith looks up at him. “That I was a traitor to you guys… to my own nation.”  He sighs. “Since then it’s been… on my mind.” Lance was quiet upon hearing that.  He got up and walked towards him.

“Keith.”  Lance got on his level, eyes locked on to his.  “You are trying hard to save the world, including your nation, from a ruthless dictator and bring peace.  That is the farthest thing from a traitor.” He gave the Avatar a sincere smile. Keith gave Lance a scared look.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m certain of it.”  Lance said. “So no more talk of you being a traitor, kay Sweetie?”  He asks. Keith blushes at the nickname but nods slightly.

“Kay.”  He says, Lance smiles and walks back to the group.

“Good answer, now let's go see what Hunk made.”  He says, Keith sighs but a smile on his face. He got up and followed Lance back to camp.

* * *

Zethrid was rubbing her head, feeling nauseous.  Acxa was taking care of her, since they both were beaten pretty hard.  The bumpy ride of the tank was not helping Zethrid sick state. She threw up again, Acxa holding the bucket for her and looking away.  Not wanting to see her friend throw up.

“What’s up with this ride?!”  She asks. Lotor looks back and answered.

“Oh, sorry.  Should Ezor or I take over?”

“Narti’s driving?!”  Acxa asks in disbelief.  Lotor shrugs as a response.

“She wanted to.”

“Ezor, take over!”

“Oh fine, ruin Narti’s fun.”  She responds. Taking Narti’s spot on the wheel.  The little general pouts and sat next to Lotor. Acxa went back to helping Zethrid, they spoke quietly so no one else will eaves drop.

“So what happened to you?”

“I don’t know.”  Zethrid replies, sitting up.  “I was just fine, I even got a good hit on the Avatar.  I’m sure he’s dead, or severely injured.” She says. “Then that stupid waterbender came up and blocked him.  Before I got my hit on him I felt a sharp pain in my neck, then I woke up in this tank.”

“You don’t know how you passed out?”

“That’s what happened?”  She asks, Acxa gave her friend a look.

“Yes, Lotor said he found you passed out.  The Avatar and the waterbender were nowhere in sight.”

“Oh, that’s weird.  Was Lotor watching me?”  She asks. “Wonder if he had that vile still…”  Zethrid lays back down. Acxa stops and thought about it.

“Vile?”  She slowly looks at Lotor, starting to grow suspicious.  “I thought it broke…”  She thought about that while laying next to her sick friend.  The group kept driving down the desert.  Lotor has no idea what he’s going to do… or what he’s going to tell his team.  Hell he has no idea what to do anymore.

* * *

The group flies over the rocky terrain, everyone was talking and goofing around.  Enjoying their time in the skies, where it was safe. They talked about the weirdest things they did as children, or what they did before they joined the group.  Just simple things.

“I think one of the funniest things I did was airbend a cake at the monks who were meditating.”  Shiro said, then started to laugh. “Oh my mother was so mad. She was scolding me, then my father did the same thing.”

“Really?!”  Keith asks.

“Yeah, but my mother couldn’t stop us.”  He said. The monks didn’t even move, it was hilarious.”  Shiro laughs. “Okay, someone else, someone else.”

“Me!”  Lance raises his hand.  “This one is pretty awful of me.”  He says. “So my sister had a fear of being under water so…”

“What did you do?”  Hunk asks through his giggles.

“I mastered the bubble technique because of this.”  He said. Everyone caught on.

“You put her in a bubble?!”

“Hey I was with her!”  He says. “So I snuck her out while she was asleep.  Veronica woke up and saw she was underwater and started screaming.  Then I told her to stay calm and I’d get her out. She was the first to figure out I was a waterbender.”  He says. “Let’s just say I got quite a beating from her.”

“Your big sister beat you up?”  Shiro asks.

“In all honesty I deserved it.”  He says. Everyone laughs at that.  Lance looks at his feet and rubs the heel, remembering his family.  “I wonder when I’ll see them again.” He says while watching his toes wiggle.

“Once the war is over and you return home.”  Shiro says, Lance thought about that.

“That’s so far away…”  He says. “And in all honesty I don’t want to think about that.  Cause that means we’ll all go our separate ways.” He admits, the whole team stops.  Coran starts to chuckle.

“Doesn’t mean we won’t see each other.”  He pats Lance’s shoulder. “But we have to grow up and live our own lives.  However you can always find your friends around the world.” The older man tells him.  Lance nods and messed with his hair.

“I guess.”  He says, Hunk steps in.

“Yeah, I want my kids to meet my friends that nearly got me killed on more than one occasion.”  He teases. That got the entire group to laugh. Keith sighs and looks at everyone.

“You know… I never had friends growing up.”  He admits. “I’m glad I have some now, I really did miss out… before.  I’m still surprised you guys managed to put up with me while my social skills are the equivalent of an old rice cracker.”  He says, that got the group to laugh again, this time they were in tears.

“What can we say?  We love our little rice cracker.”  Lance says, Keith chuckles and hid his face.

“Shut up.”

“You called yourself that.”  Shiro said. Hunk grabs Keith and puts him in a death hug.

“We wouldn’t want you any other way!”  He says, Keith felt himself blush at the comment.  No one's ever really said that to him, but they all do love him the way he is.  He hugs Hunk back and laughs.

Shiro shook his head as the two fell over laughing in their hug.

“Keep that up and I’m gonna push you both off.”  That made Hunk let go immediately. He loved Keith, but he loved life more.

* * *

Lotor was letting Narti play with his hair, she smiles at how soft it is and made a french braid.  For someone who is blind she is amazing with hair. Ezor hands Acxa a drink and watches the land roll by.

“So I checked on Zethrid.”

“And?”

“She’s doing better.”  Ezor says. “Not throwing up anymore.”  She tells her. Acxa nods and kept driving the tank.  “How much longer till we get to our destination?”

“Another day or so.  This outpost in on the edge near the water.”  She says, Ezor sighs.

“Fine, I’m gonna go lay with Zethrid.  Nice hair my lord.” She comments. Lotor smiles and poses, Narti got upset that he moved and slaps his shoulder.

“Okay okay, sorry.”  He went back to being still while Narti continued to braid his hair.  He watches outside and thought about what to do, what his next course of action will be.  He wants to know if his generals will still be by his side even if they figure out he helped in the Avatar’s escape.

He wants to go back to the Fire Nation… but he doesn’t know if he truly wants to be by his father’s side anymore.  After all that has happened… what does he want?

“Acxa.”

“Yes my lord?”

“You are loyal to me, correct?”

“Yes, I will follow you anywhere.”

“Even if I turn against my father?”  He asks, that made her jump.

“You… you can’t be serious.  You’re not suggesting turning against him are you?”

“No, not at all.”  He lies. “Just, a thought.”

“Do not say such stupid things milord.”  She kept driving. “Once we return to base we can think of a new plan.”  She tells him, he nods slightly, much to Narti’s annoyance. He kept watching the scenery go by while Narti finishes his hair.

* * *

Lance watches Hunk make soup, he finishes it up, throwing some salt on it, and smiles.  The smell was intoxicating. How can someone cook such amazing food and not be famous? Hunk was a legend.

“Okay, all finished.  Lance, wanna serve it up?”

“Gladly.”  He says and looks at all the bowls lined up.  He bends the soup towards the bowls. Each of the bowls fill up and he smiles at his success.  Shiro takes a bowl and leans against Black. Keith comes out of left field and took a bowl like he hasn’t seen food in weeks.  Coran picks on up and went back to working on his machine. Lance and Hunk took one and did a quick toast with it and dug in.

Hunk watches how everyone eats differently.  He sees Shiro drink it, Keith stuffing his face like an animal.  Coran was eating with a spoon, spilling soup everywhere due to him not looking at the bowl or the spoon, and focusing on his machine.

“Jeez, can’t these guys eat normally?”  He asks before looking at Lance, who was eating much like Keith.

“Vat?”  He asks, mouth full of soup.  Hunk gave a disgusted face.

“N-Nevermind.”  Hunk ate with decent table manners.  He looks at the soup he made and spoke up.  “I’ve never made a vegetarian version of this meal before.”

“This isn’t how it’s made?”

“It usually has chicken or duck in it.”  He says. Lance slurps some soup from the corner of his mouth and chuckles.

“Don’t tell Keith that, duck is his favorite meat.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  Hunk says. “But since travelling with you guys I’ve had to change my dishes so Shiro can eat.”

“Yeah, I don’t understand why he doesn’t eat meat.”

“He’s an Air Nomad.”  Hunk says. “They’re beliefs affect their diets.  Shiro’s people believe that all life is precious so they do not eat meat.”

“Where I’m from our main resource is meat.”  Lance says. “It’s kind of nice to find some other things to try.  Like I’ve grown a love for moon peaches, also some other fruits that Keith has stored away, though I doubt he has them anymore.”

“Yeah, I’m sure those are gone.”

“My seal jerky is gone too.”  Lance comments. “I made so much and I swear he ate them all.”  He pouts. “Keith has an appetite like no other.”

“Well he works hard.  His body needs a lot of nourishment just to keep up with his activities.”

“I pity his future husband.”  Lance grumbles and took another big bite of soup and bends more in his bowl.  Hunk chuckles and held his bowl out so Lance can bend more for him. He does and kept eating.

Shiro puts his bowl down and leans against his friend with a happy sigh, he watches Keith finish up next to him and bends more in.  Shiro raises an eyebrow, giving Keith the most concerned look.

“Isn’t that your third bowl?”

“Fourth.”

“Okay, I’m cutting you off.”

“NO!”  Keith snaps as Shiro took the bowl from him.  “Come on Shiro, don’t do this!”

“Everyone else has only had two bowls, Coran is still on his first one.”  Shiro tells him. “You should let your stomach rest.”

“No!”

“Keith, your stomach is probably bloated.”

“A bloated tummy is a happy tummy!”  Keith argues. Shiro rolls his eyes and fed the remaining soup to Black.  Keith gave a betrayed look. He whimpers dramatically, Shiro gave no sympathy and puts the bowls away.  Black got the rest of the soup, meanwhile Yellow finishes his diced fish that Hunk has for him.

They finished up and all rested for a bit.  Keith practices again with Hunk, the same thing happens again.  Lance sat next to Shiro and watches, Coran turned in early and was snoring on top of Black.  Yellow curled up on his stomach and asleep with him.

The team was actually at peace for the moment.  It was nice, getting back into things. Lance leans against Shiro and watches the two practice bending.  Shiro rubs Lance’s head vigorously, leaving his hair a mess. Lance gave an unamused look, but didn’t say anything, nor look away from his two friends.

They went on till the moon showed in the sky, lighting up the ground around them.


	3. The Small Earthbender

Keith sat next to Shiro and watches the ground below them, he sees all the trees and wonders if they’re back to the place they met Rolo and the Freedom Fighters.  It doesn’t look the same, but very similar. Lance and Coran were looking at changes while Hunk was passed out, Yellow clawing at his face to wake him up, failing miserably.

“We’re going to stop soon.”  Shiro said.

“Why?”

“Cause we need to restock on supplies, and you need to go back to practicing.”  Shiro tells him. Keith groans and flops on his back. “Oh quit being a drama queen.”

“I’m not in the mood.”  He mumbles, Shiro rolls his eyes and they land in the forest area.  Shiro hops off, Coran with him. The three boys stayed on Black and watched the two older men walk into the forest to find supplies.

Keith hops down, Lance following right behind.  He follows the Avatar around the campsite and clears it out so he could train.  Lance plays with one rock and throws it in the nearby lake. Keith was done and sat down in the middle, firebending in pure boredom.  Lance lays on his stomach next to him and watches.

“Pretty.”

“The fire?”

“Yeah.”  Lance pokes it and regrets his decision.  “Ow.”

“It burns, I thought you’d know this.  Remember your poor thigh getting burnt?”

“Yeah, and that was all your fault asshole.”  Lance reminds him.

“I had to make it believable.”  Keith says with a snicker, Lance tries hard not to smile but Keith could see that and laughs.  “Are you trying to be angry with me?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?”  Keith asks with a chuckle.  Lance giggles like a child.

“Yes, cause I’m angry with you for bringing up that memory.”  He says, Keith puts him in a headlock and laughs.

“Oh really?  Sorry for ruining your stupid leg.”

“I have gorgeous skin!”  He says. “It’s flawless!”  He kicks one leg in the air.  Keith raised one eyebrow.

“It’s just skin.”

“How dare you!”  Lance gasps. “It’s beautiful!  Look at my legs!” He puts a leg in Keith’s face.  Keith mentally curses at him, he loves how Lance shamelessly shows himself off in front of him, but he can’t get excited.  That’d be weird and Lance would probably kick him if he found out.

“Look at them!”

“I’m looking!”  His voice cracks again, always when he’s trying to act normal.  He covers his mouth while Lance fell on his back laughing. “Get off of me.”  He pushes the laughing Lance away from him.

“That is so cute, Keith.”

“No!  It’s awkward and embarrassing!”  He squeaks again, groaning that his voice is making him sound like a loser.  Lance was busting a gut. He pouts and looks away from Lance. He soon got sick of his laughter and airbended him away.  He screams as he was blown away. 

Hunk woke up to that and slowly looks down to see Keith still pouting, face flushed pure red.  He climbs down with Yellow still perched on his shoulder. Keith notices him and waves.

“Nice to see you up.”

“Yeah, why did you push Lance away?”

“He’s being a jerk.”

“Am not!”  Lance calls while walking back.  He climbs onto Black and digs through the bags to find food.  “You two gonna train or something?”

“Yeah we should start working on earthbending.”  He says, Keith groans but he got up and started mimicking Hunk.  Lance sat with Black and ate some a moon peach while watching them practice.  He pats Black’s side and lazily watches.

“How much longer till you think he masters it?”  He asks the bison. Black makes a low noise. “Yeah… sounds about right.”  Lance responds and took another bite.

To say Keith was doing well would be a lie.  Well somewhat. Keith is getting it, Hunk’s not really good at motivating Keith.  Which is weird, the two got along very well. They talk to each other just fine, even when Keith is trying to show off and look cool in front of him it isn’t awkward.  The two had great chemistry. But for some odd reason Keith just doesn’t want to earthbend.

Scratch that, he doesn’t have the motivation, and Hunk wasn’t giving him a challenge.  They were good friends, but opposites. Keith was rebellious, loves a challenge, if he can one up someone it’ll make his day.  He also doesn’t listen to anyone and will fight someone if they tell him what to do. Hunk is someone who is more gentle and prefers peace over violence.  He is a non violent bender, so it makes sense that he’ll show Keith less attacks and more basics that won’t do anything.

After about thirty minutes of trying Hunk calls for a break.  He sat down and watched Keith walk off.

“Dude we barely did anything, how are you sweating?”  He asks the now shirtless Avatar, Keith said nothing and wanders off.  Lance walks down and picks his shirt up and looks at Hunk. He can tell Hunk was done trying, but was he going to give up?  Lance never felt like giving up, and teaching Keith water was near impossible.

“Can I ask you a question?”  Hunk asks, bringing Lance out of his thoughts.

“Sure.”

“How did you teach Keith?  I don’t understand.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well he listens to you, when you wanted to show him something he’d watch with interest.  Yet you two are different, you can still get him to listen.” He says. Lance thought about it for a moment.  All the times Keith didn’t listen to him, which was about the same number as the times he did listen but Lance doesn’t remember those at the moment.

He sighs and folds his arms across his chest.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.  He was a pain to teach, I was just persistent.  Also he doesn’t listen to me- KEITH NO!”

“Separate the sea~”  Keith says as he separates the water in the lake, splitting it down the middle and making a dry walkway.  He shouldn’t be using his powers like that. Lance ran up and backed him away from the lake, causing the water to fall back into place.  Keith looks up at Lance angrily.

“As impressive as that way, you can’t be doing stupid stuff like that.  What if someone was fishing? Or swimming, or…. Don’t mess up the natural order of things!”  He snaps, Keith raised an eyebrow.

“We’re benders… we disrupt the natural order on a daily basis.”  He says, Lance stops to think about that. He grew upset and drops Keith, not wanting to talk to him.  He was right, they disturb things all the time, but not on the level Keith was just doing.

“Just get back to training.”  Lance mumbles and went back to Black, Keith cocks his head to the side but he just stood up and went back to Hunk.  Not wanting to continue but he had to. He needed to master earth so he has to get it over with. Honestly Keith is just done with work.

* * *

An hour rolls by and the whole team was just bored, Shiro was even tired of watching Keith bend, somewhat.  He’s getting it, but not much improvement. And Hunk isn’t better cause he isn’t showing any attacks, just simple basics that Keith has down.

Coran had fallen asleep again, guy gets so bored he either works on that machine that’s practically done, or he conks out.  Shiro cannot blame him, after this war he wants to sleep for a century. He’ll die a happy man if he can sleep the last hundred years of his life.

Lance looks bored too.  He was playing with Yellow, making the cat do karate moves and making bored sound effects.  The other two? They were now just sitting around and talking. Shiro got up and stretches.

“Anyone want to come explore the area with me?  Maybe find something to do, or more supplies?”

“Don’t have to ask me twice.”  Lance said as he got up, letting Yellow go and watching the kitty hop on his owners shoulder.  Keith looks over and nods.

“Count me in.”  He stood up and walks over to the other two.  Hunk looks at them and waves a hand.

“You all go ahead, I’ll stay with Coran and watch the place.”  He says, the three nod and walk away into the forest. Finally something to do, and not as boring.

“So what’s new with you guys?”  Shiro asks, Lance and Keith look at each other and shrug.

“Not much.”  Lance says. “Keith is getting nowhere in his earthbending.”

“Shut up, you don’t know how frustrating it is to learn a new art and having a pacifist as a teacher.”

“Must suck.”  Lance deadpans.  “I don’t know about you guys, but I am craving chicken right about now.”

“Awwww, don’t make me hungry!”  Keith whines. Shiro rolls his eyes.

“I would love some sweet buns, seriously I want to get back home and have some.”  Shiro says, Keith groans again.

“Dumplings~”  He sighs happily.  “Filled with duck and cabbage.”  He says, Lance pushed him.

“Now you’re making me hungry.  I just said chicken.”

“Just as bad!”

“You’re just a pig.”  Lance points out, Keith stuck his tongue out and remembers all the food back home in the Fire Nation.

“Mmmm… fire gummies, fire flakes, fruit tarts… roasted duck.”

“Knock it off!”

“Make me.”  Keith challenges.  Lance took it and tackles him down, Shiro sighs and watches them wrestle on the ground.

“Ah, the good old days.  How I miss them.” He says in a tired and slightly sarcastic voice.  He waits for them to come to an end, it ended by Keith picking up Lance and throwing him over his shoulder.  Lance just pouts as he was hanging upside down over Keith’s shoulder. His arms dangling down in defeat.

Shiro kept walking, Keith right behind.  Lance had no choice at the moment. After a few minutes Shiro had to tell Keith to put him down, Keith refused.

“Come on Keith, he’s not a doll.”

“This is his punishment.”

“No, you have to put him down.  You can’t keep carrying him.”

“He’s not complaining.”

“Yeah, you can’t see his face, I can.”  Shiro points out. Lance continues to say nothing, but he still wasn’t happy.  Shiro groans and kept walking, Keith continues to carry Lance down the wooden path.

The area seemed to grow darker and more treacherous.  Rustling can be heard all around, Lance looks over at a tree and sees yellow eyes glowing through the trees.  Lance looks at Keith the best he could.

“Hey did you guys see that?”

“See what?”  The Avatar replies.

“Some eyes staring at us.”

“You’re imagining things.”  He said. Lance looks back down, as amused as ever.

“Yeah… cause the blood is rushing to my head.”  Despite that Keith didn’t put him down. He pouts and went back to being silent.  Until he saw something on the ground in the mud. It looked like… uh oh…

“Guys?”

“What now?”

“I think we’re walking to a tr-AH!”  A net below them trapped the three. They all groan in pain and discomfort.  Lance tried pushing his face out from behind Keith’s back. Not the most comfortable thing.

Shiro got mad cause Lance’s foot was in his face, Shiro was close to kneeing Keith’s groin, and Keith is not as flexible as this net thinks he is.  All three tried wiggling out but one wrong move and someone was going to get hurt, then it’d start a chain reaction.

“I swear I heard it go off, it sounded big too.”

“Wow, your traps work… for once.”

“Don’t doubt my expert trapping skills!”  They heard voices coming closer. The three continued to struggle, they didn’t want to meet whoever made the trap.  Too late though, the two walked up.

The trio stops and looks at their captors, they looked alike, way too alike.  One was just taller and obviously a male, both Earth Nomads. The boy wore a common Earth Kingdom attire, green with short sleeves and tied by a dark green band.  His pants were dark brown and wore a straw hat, his hair touched his shoulder. He was also carrying a staff.

The smaller one was obviously a girl, not the most feminine shape so she must be younger.  She wore a green sleeveless dress that went up to her lower neck and cuts down both sides to reveal her legs, which were covered by dark green leggings.  She had gold bands on both of her biceps. She wasn’t wearing shoes though. Her hair was long and up in a ponytail. Both of them were pale and had huge brown eyes.

Obviously these two had to be related.

“Oh no, we didn’t catch food.”  He says, the girl looks at him with the most expressionless face.

“Anything can be food if we kill it.”  She says, the boy freaks out.

“Woah, sis that’s taking it too far!”  He shrieks. The girl shrugs.

“We need to eat, if you don’t want to eat I can give them to Green.”  She says. All three gave the most unamused face at the two. No one said anything for a good few minutes.

Then all three boys started bending around them.  Keith and Shiro airbended, Lance used the water around the mud to bend.  The two siblings ran in circles away from the assault. Then Keith uses earthbending to cut the rope and free them.  They fell and immediately got up to fight the two nutcases who tried eating them.

The male held his staff in a ready position, the girl stood in an odd way, gesturing them to come at her if they dare.  The male runs at Shiro, trying to strike him down quickly. Shiro uses his own staff to block and airbends at the male to get him away.  He lands after that and ran at Shiro again. The girl just stares Keith down.

Keith stops and watches the girl, she was waiting… waiting… wait a minute.  Lance tries bending water at her, she stomps hard on the ground and made a wall.  Keith knew it.

“She’s a bender!”  He says. Lance got annoyed.

“Yeah, no shit Keith.”  He grumbles.

“Her stance gave it away.”  He whispers to Lance. “She was using what the King of Omashu told me about.  She used neutral jing.”

“You know I have no clue what you’re talking about.”  He admits to the Avatar. The girl lowers the wall and levitates a rock in front of her, then one sharp kick she launches it at the two.  Lance cuts it in half, the girl smirks and stomps hard on the ground, three rocks in front of her. She kicks them all separately, all launching at great speeds.  Keith immediately made a wall in front of both him and Lance.

The girl stops and calls to her brother.

“Matt, stop!”

“Huh?”

“This Fire Nomad.  He… He earthbended!”  She tells her brother.

“Wait… really?”  The male stops attacking and stares at Keith.  “We-We should go.”

“But he’s-”

“I know, we need to go.  Before the Fire Nation finds them.”

“But he’s the Avatar!”

“I know Katie, come on!”  He grabs her arm, the girl looks back and sees them.  The team looks at one another, then they walked back to camp.

* * *

Keith grumbles in the water, Lance scrubbing his scalp and face ruthlessly.  The three were covered in mud so once they got back they went into the lake and started washing off.  Shiro got done and was walking out to dry his clothes off. Keith tried doing a quick in and out but mud was stuck in his hair and all over his body.

Lance forced him to stay and in scrubbing his hair to get all the mud out, Keith hating every minute of it.  He growls at Lance when he tugs at his hair a bit.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, but it’s caked in your hair.”  He says. Keith pouts, letting Lance scrub away. He pulls on his hair.

“OW!”

“Sorry!”  He snaps in defense.  “You need to clean your mullet more.”

“I take good care of my hair thank you very much.”  He pouts. Lance rolls his eyes and waterbends water on top of Keith’s head to rinse mud out.  Keith pouts while his bangs covered his eyes. Lance giggles and moves his dark hair away from his eyes.  Keith slowly looks at him with a rather unamused look.

“There you are~”  He sings, Keith spits water at him.  Lance raised an eyebrow at him and went back to getting Keith clean.  The Avatar grumbles at Lance again but he ignores him. “Oh spirits it is caked on, I hope you got the rest of your body at least.  Cause I do not want to clean the rest of you off. That’d be embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing is you right up against my back cleaning my hair and face like I’m a child!”  He snaps. Lance rolls his eyes again and rubs his head aggressively.

“You refuse to get clean, this is what you get.”  Lance says. “And hey, at least we’re not naked… that’d be really embarrassing.”  He points out, Keith facepalms. He really wanted to be out of the water now. However Lance was not letting him go anytime soon.

“Are you two almost done?”  Shiro asks, fixing his shawl a bit.

“Almost.”  Lance calls back, he starts poking Keith’s face.  “Just got to clean Mr. Grumpypants’s face and he’ll be all clean~”  He sings, Keith tries to bite him. Lance pulls his finger away with a squeak, then gave him a look.

Lance went back to scrubbing Keith’s face.  Shiro sighs and sat next to Hunk who was cooking, like usual.

“So what’s on tonight's menu?”  He asks, Hunk smiles.

“Oh I’m making noodle stew, adding those veggies you found.”  He says. “And a surprise for Keith.”

“Surprise?!”  Keith heard that and desperately splashed around to get away from Lance.  The waterbender wasn’t taking it and wrapped his arms around his waist to keep him in the water.

“You are not clean!”

“Let go!  I want to see the surprise!”

“You’ll see it when you’re done!”

“Let me go Lance!”

“No!  Sit still so I can get your face-”  He lifts an arm away from Keith’s body, mud was dripping off of it.  Lance raised an eyebrow. Keith’s eyes went wide and tried swimming away.  Lance tackles him.

“No!  Don’t you fucking touch me!”

“You are ridiculous!”  The two fought in the water.  Shiro sighs.

“Well he’ll finally get clean.”  Shiro sighs.

“How did you three get dirty in the first place?”  Hunk asks. Shiro looks at him and answers.

“We fell into a trap two locals made.  We managed to get out but mud was below us, so we got dirty.  Also I got into a fight with the taller one of the two, meanwhile those two fought the bender.”

“Bender?”

“Yeah, the smaller one, a girl, she was an earthbender.  A pretty skilled one at that.”

“She must be if she held those two off.”  Hunk said as he stirred the stew.

“She attacked way more than you do.”

“I don’t attack, I defend.”  Hunk points out. “She must be more comfortable with fighting than I am.”  He says. “Okay, foods done!” Hunk calls. The two were still fighting. Hunk sighs and picks up the food on his own.  “Kay, I guess Coran and I can finish this duck we found.” He says, that made Keith waterbend Lance away and run out.

Lance sighs and follows him.  Keith uses airbending to dry both of them off and quickly got changed and sat next to Hunk with a huge smile on his face.

“Wow, that got you to move.  Here ya go buddy.” He hands Keith his food, he immediately went to stuffing his face like usual.  They all ate in silence, Shiro looking back in the woods, thinking of that girl.

She was ruthless, using all the tricks to catch Keith and Lance off guard.  Hunk is having a hard time motivating Keith, also he’s a pacifist. So maybe… maybe they need someone else to step in and teach him earthbending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Holts are here! The Holts are here!!!


	4. New Teacher

Shiro snuck away from the team the next day, he told Coran that he’ll be gone for a while and for the team not to worry.  Keith didn’t take that advice.

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“He’ll be back soon.”  Coran tries calming him down.

“WE GOT ATTACKED YESTERDAY!  WE SHOULD ALL STICK TOGETHER!”

“Want me to go after him?”  Lance asks.

“YOU ARE THE LAST PERSON I WANT GOING OUT THERE!”

“Woah, sorry.”  Lance says. Coran groans and went back to relaxing.

“He’ll be fine, just wait for him to come back.”  Keith began to pace back and forth. He was steaming, the group watches him.  “Lance.” Coran looks at him.

“Yes?”

“Calm him down.”

“Why me…”  He whines. “Alright Keith, just take a deep breath-”

“I don’t need to take a deep breath!”

“Fine, but you need to calm down.  Shiro use to travel by himself, you know he is fully capable of taking care of himself.”  He says, he grabs his shoulder and smiles at him. “It’s sweet that you care for him, but he’ll be fine.  Trust me on this one.”

“I don’t know-”

“He’s a full grown adult Keith, he’s fine.”  Lance says, Keith looks down and sighs. He’s being protective again.

“You’re right.”  He says and sat down on a rock and looks at his hands.  He began to mess with his necklace. Lance sat next to him.

“Okay I’ll make a deal, you and I will go after him if he’s not back within the moons time.  Would that be okay with you?” He asks Keith, he looks at Lance and nods happily. The other two wondered how he did that.

* * *

The woods were crowded, he wonders how people managed to live out here.  Those two must’ve lived in the woods all their lives. He kept walking around and finding new paths, keeping an eye out for new traps.  There were new traps laying around everywhere, even a new net.

The two weren’t anywhere in sight, making Shiro a bit annoyed.  These two weren’t anywhere in sight, where are they hiding? The wilderness was starting to look the same, like he’s going in circles.  He hopes he’s not, he’d feel like an idiot.

A rock was thrown his way, Shiro uses his staff to simply block the rock.  He looks over and sees the guy from earlier, another rock in hand and staff pointed at him.  Shiro held his arms up in mercy.

“Please, I won’t hurt yo-”  The rock hit his head, he gave the boy a done face.

“Leave!”  He shouts.  “I will not repeat myself!”

“I only want to tal-”  Another rock. “Knock it off!”

“Get out of here!  I already lost so much from this stupid war, I am not losing my sister too!”  He shouts. Shiro shook his head.

“I want to talk to both of you, please I came alone.  Keith, the Avatar, isn’t with me.”

“You swear the Avatar isn’t anywhere near here?”  He asks, Shiro nods peacefully. Matt made an unsure face but slowly walked off, Shiro follows.  He was lead to a small home surrounded by a swamp like area.

The boy hops on a small raft and pushes himself towards the house.

“Find your own way across.”  He says while sailing away, using his staff as a paddle.  Shiro looks around, seeing all the trees. He smirks, running up to one and kicking off of it, opening his staffs wings and gliding across the water.  The boy looks up and huffs. “Of course you can get across...”

Shiro lands as soon as the boy got to shore.  The boy walks into the home and calls inside.

“Pidge, I’m home!”  Shiro sees the girl get up and run towards the boy.

“Matt!”  She jumps in his arms and cuddles into him.  She notices Shiro behind him and growls. “Why is he here?”  She snaps. Shiro held his arms up again.

“What is with this family?”  He asks. Pidge glares at him.

“Listen, I don’t care what you want from us.  We already lost our parents, we don’t want to lose each other.”  She says. “Matt and I only have each other…” A large animal comes out from behind her, it looked freaky and had no eyes but a weird nose.  Shiro jumps back in panic, the creature rubs against the girls body. “Yes, we’d have you Green.”

“I-Is that-”

“That’s my sisters pet shirshu.”  Matt said. Pidge pets the creatures head.

“Her name is Green.  She can’t see but she’s an excellent tracker.”  Pidge says. “She’s a little young still, but big enough for me to ride.”  She hops on the shirshu’s back and puts on a pair of odd goggles. “Matt made me these.”

Shiro takes them and puts them on, making everything look yellow.  He just looks around with curiosity.

“What are these?”  He asks with a slight chuckle, Pidge takes them back and puts them on a pouch on Green’s saddle.

“Goggles, so I can ride and not get stuff caught in my eye.”  She says, Shiro smiles at the two. They were so close, must be nice to have siblings.  Pidge leans against Green’s head and smirks at Shiro.

“So what’s the deal with you and your friends?”  She asks. “I was a little concerned to see a Fire Nomad with you guys, but he’s a good guy isn’t he?”  Shiro looks at her with surprise and nods.

“Yes!  Oh yes, he’s the-”

“I know, he’s the Avatar.”  She said. “Where did you find him?”

“Keith?  I found him while visiting the Fire Nation.  He was just an orphan, took me by surprise when he suddenly airbended.”

“That tribesman?”  Pidge asks.

“Oh, that’s Lance.  He’s from the south, and a damn good bender.”  Shiro says. “He taught Keith waterbending.” Pidge was obviously impressed.  “We also have two Earth Nomads, ones a non bender, the other is Keith’s teacher for earthbending.”

“Well sounds like an amazing group.”  She kicks a bit at Green’s side to get her to move.  The shirshu walks outside, Pidge uses earthbending to get them across the large murky water mass that protected their home.

Matt walks to his raft and started rowing himself across, Shiro kicks off of their house and glides over.  The three make it to the other side. Shiro looks at Matt, the guy was about his height. He smiles and walks after his sister.

“She bends a lot.”

“Yeah, she does.”  Matt nods. “Lucky that she’s a bender.  I was so jealous but also proud of her. She uses it for everything, even taming Green when it was just a baby.”

“She had to tame that thing?”

“Uh huh.  My parents had a heart attack when they saw her carry it home, she was just a tiny girl carrying that in.  Holding it like a child holding a dog or cat, arms over hers and legs dangling down.” Matt walks like her when bringing Green home.  “Green wouldn’t leave after that, the two grew so close so fast. Probably because they’re so alike.”

“Alike?”

“Well her and Green are goofy.  They both love to look around and discover new things, but Green grew a little protective of her.  Anyone tries to hurt Pidge, she’ll attack, and shirshu’s have venom in their tongues.” He tells Shiro, the Air Nomad nods in fear.

“Duly noted.”  He says. “Does Green like you?”

“Oh yeah, she loves anyone who’s family.”  Matt said. He watches Pidge hop off of Green and trap something in a rock trap.  “But yeah… Pidge uses bending for literally anything… WE AREN’T EATING A RAT!”

“We’re not?”  She calls back.  “Okay, be free little friend.”  She keeps walking around, Green following behind.

“Your sister is very skilled.”

“Very.”  He says. “You seem interested in her skills as a bender.  Why is that?” Matt asks, Shiro didn’t say anything. He just kept watching her, whether it’s bending or riding Green.  He walks with them for a while longer, checking on all their traps to see if they caught anything. So far nothing.

They sat around for a bit, Matt takes Green and rides away to track down something instead.  Shiro really wanted to talk with Pidge alone. He watches the young girl bend some more. Moving rocks around and playing with them, she reminds him of Keith.  The way he just plays with his bending.

She sends the rock away at great speeds.  Shiro looks at her.

“You are an amazing bender.”

“Thanks.”  She says with a smile.

“Listen… I have something to ask of you.”

“What?”  She stood up and stretched her back.  Shiro stood next to her and looks at the ground.

“You… you’re a skilled bender.”  He starts. “You caught Keith’s attention, I’ve noticed.”  She slowly looks at him with a judgmental look.

“So what, I’m supposed to be flattered?”  She asks. Shiro shook his head.

“No, well if you want to feel that way then sure.”  Shiro says in a panic. “No, I wanted to ask you… if you’d teach Keith earthbending.”  Silence.

“What?”  Pidge was giving him a judgmental look.  Shiro sighs, he took a deep breath and prepared his speech.

“I’ve seen you bend.  You’re ruthless, tricky, and above all you don’t care, you do it your way.”  He says, Pidge crosses her arms and closes her eyes to avoid all eye contact.  Brows furrowed in annoyance. “You’d be the perfect teacher for Keith.”

“I’m nothing like you, you’re a monk who loves to intrude.  And I guarantee I’m nothing like that waterbender.” She says in a cold tone.  “Who the hell is teaching him earthbending that you need someone like me?”

“Well…”

* * *

“How do I use this to attack?”  Keith asks while pointing at the tower he made.

“Well you-”

“Hunk come on!  I have a time limit to learn all the elements here!  You’ll have to show me how to attack at some point!” He shouts at the pacifist.  Lance was on top of the wall looking down, kicking his legs against the wall.

“Can one of you help me down?”

* * *

“... Let’s just say we would love your help.”

“Me.  Teach the Avatar?”  She asks, then a smile grows on her face.  “You think I’m worthy enough to teach him?”

“Definitely.”  He says with a nod, the small girl blushes, her brown eyes twinkling.  She waits for Matt to come back. A few minutes Matt comes back disappointed, he sees Pidge smiling.

“What did I miss?”  He asks with a chuckle, hopping down.  Pidge runs to him and grabs his arms, bouncing.

“Matt Matt!  Guess what?”

“What?”  He asks.

“This guy, he wants me to teach the Avatar earthbending!”  She says. Matt’s eyes grew.

“What?”  That made Shiro jump.

“Uh, she’s just- well…”  He forgot that this guy was protective of his sister.

“That’s amazing!”  That caught Shiro off guard.  Matt just picks her up off the ground and spins her around.  “My baby sister teaching the Avatar! Oh spirits our parents would be so proud!”  He puts her down and looks at Shiro.

“Wait… how will she teach?”

“Well…”  Shiro looks down.  “She’ll have to come with us.  We travel so the Fire Nation can’t catch us.”  He says. “Sometimes we get into messes with them… or something else just as bad.”  He says. Matt raises an eyebrow and sighs.

“Well only one thing to do.”  He says looking at Pidge. “I’m coming with you guys.  If you have room for one more.” He says, Shiro looks at him and nods.

“Yeah, we have room.”  He notices Green huff behind the two siblings.  “Yes, we’ll have room for you too.” He says to the shirshu.

“One condition.”  She says. “Both Matt and I lost our parents, they were arrested by the Fire Nation.  If we join you, you promise us we get our parents back, deal?” She asks, Matt grabbing his sisters shoulder, saying he’s on her side.  Shiro nods.

“Once we stop the war you will have your family back.  That is a promise.” He tells them, the two smile. Agreeing to come along.

* * *

Shiro walks back into camp, Keith sees him and runs up to him happily.

“Where were you?”  He asks. Shiro pats Keith’s shoulder.

“Oh I just went out and… found some help.”

“Help?”  He asks. He looks behind Shiro to see Green walk up with Pidge riding her, Matt behind holding his sisters waist as she leads the animal to the group.  The other four stare in shock at the two siblings.

Pidge hops down, Matt follows.  The two wave at the group and introduce themselves.

“Name’s Matt.”  Matt says.

“I’m Pidge, and this is my loyal friend Green.  She’s a shirshu.”

“This thing is a girl?”  Lance asks while hiding behind Keith, who already had his journal out and was drawing Green with a huge grin on his face.

“Yes, she’s a girl.”  She says. “I’m guessing you’re Lance?”

“Y-Yeah.”  He nods. She looks at Hunk and points.

“I’m Hunk.”  She looks at Coran.

“Name’s Coran, I’m an inventor!”  He says with pride, Pidge smirks.

“Lookie here Matt, another non bender like you.”  She says, Matt adjusts his hat and looks at Coran.

“Awesome.”  Matt says and walks up to Coran to check out what he’s making.  Pidge rolls her eyes and looks at Keith. He was done drawing Green as was messing with her odd looking snout.

“You’re Keith, the Avatar?”  She asks.

“Yes, I am.”  He nods. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.  Shiro told me everything on the way here.”  She smirks at him. “I’m teaching you the offensive side of earthbending.”  She says. Keith’s eyes widen.

“You are?”

“Oh thank the spirits.”  Hunk says with a sigh. Keith raises an eyebrow.

“You are going to teach me?”

“Yes, my brother, Green and I are joining you guys on your adventure.”  She says. Lance looks at her then at Black. He was a little worried.

“Uh… I don’t think Black can carry everyone.”  He says, everyone looks at one another. That is true, the poor bison can’t carry everyone.  Coran’s face lit up, he ran over to the bison and grabs his machine, unfolding it. He presents it to everyone.

“THE FLYING MACHINE!”  He says in happiness. “All you need to do is peddle it!”  Everyone claps for it. “The other non bender will help me peddle!”  He says, Matt jumps in fear. He looks at Pidge with a nervous smile.

“H-He means you.”  He says. Pidge gave him a bored look, she slowly lifts up a few pebbles to show she can bend.  Coran grabs him and drags him to the machine.

“Let’s go!”

“Bye Matt.”  She sings. Lance chuckles and looks at the shirshu again.  He jumps and hid behind Keith again.

“Where are it’s eyes?”

“Dunno, maybe it doesn’t have any.”

“She doesn’t.  She uses her nose.”  Pidge explains. “So no room on Black?  That’s it’s name?”

“Yeah, and Hunk has a cat named Yellow.”

“No kidding.”  Pidge laughs. “Creative name squad here.”  She says, that got Keith to chuckle, Lance just stares at Pidge.

“Wait… how old are you?”  He asks. She smiles.

“Fifteen.”  That made Lance grab her and spin her around, crushing the tiny girl in a hug.

“I’m no longer the baby of the group!”  He squeals in joy. She just gave him a confused look and points at everyone else, wondering if he was the youngest.  Keith nods.

“He was.”

“But you-”

“Year older.”  Keith comments.  “Come on Lance, let her go.”  He says, Lance stuck his tongue out and refused.

“No, I will hug this Pidgey for life!  I am no longer the youngest, and you aren’t the shortest anymore.”  Lance comments. Keith stops and looks at everyone.

“W-Was I really the shortest in the group?”

“Before this one?  Yeah.” Lance says.

“Back to back, now!”  He snaps at Lance, he puts Pidge down and he and Keith were back to back.  Shiro and Hunk watch them compare their heights. Shiro walks down and uses both of his hands to check their heights.  The two walk away and see their heights.

“Lance has you beat by half an inch.”

“What?!”  Keith shots.  “I thought we were about the same height!”

“Close, he’s a little taller.”  Shiro said, Lance laughs at him.

“Told you, you were short.”

“By half an inch!”  Keith snaps.

“Still taller.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh come on Keith, it’s not so bad.  In fact it makes you cuter.” Lance says in a flirtatious voice.  Keith’s face blew up in a crimson color. He pushes Lance away and airbends onto Black.  Pidge looks at Lance and smirks.

“You two a thing or something?”  She asks, Lance quickly snaps his attention towards her, looking identical to Keith.

“No!”  He snaps.

“Really?”

“Well it’s… shut up!”  He walks towards Black, leaving the small girl to laugh.  Shiro pats her head with a smile.

“I can tell we’ll get along fine.”  He says, she smiles sweetly. “We’re heading out, which ride you taking?”

“I guess I should go with my brother.  Come on Green.” She leads the blind creature to the flying machine and everyone got situated.  A yip yip and the first half was up, below Coran and Matt peddle, the wings on the machine start flapping.  Then they were up. Right behind Shiro and Black.

The team watches as Coran and Matt peddle while Pidge was sitting next to Green, who was just sitting all curled up.  She waves at them. Lance and Hunk wave back. Keith smiles at Shiro, the older man sighs knowing what the Avatar was going to do.  With one lift of his arm he sent a blast of air at them, causing the machine to rise.

Coran cheers, Matt screams in fear while his sister screams in excitement.  Shiro smiles, those two are going to fit right in, he knows it. He knew since he first saw them.

* * *

Lotor and his generals hop out of the tank and walk into the base, soldiers running to meet him.

“Prince Lotor, nice to see you.”  One greets, he nods. Another runs up.

“Sir, you have a visitor.”

“Visitor?”  Lotor asks. The soldier nods.  “Tell them I’m in no mood to talk.”

“But sir… it’s the Fair Lady.”  He says, Lotor stops dead in his tracks and slowly looks over in surprise.

“Mother?”


	5. The Talk

Lotor throws the tent open to see Honerva standing there with guards surrounding her.  She looks over at her son with a bright smile, gesturing her guards to leave her and Lotor alone.  His generals came in, Honerva didn’t seem to mind. This was about all of them after all, so they must stay.

“My son.”  She says in a sweet voice and held her arms out.  Lotor smiles and walks into her arms, hugging her tight, feeling protected in her arms.  “It’s been so long my dear.”

“It has, how have you been?”

“I’ve been well.  Your father has been better though.”  She tells him, Lotor groans. The last thing he wants to talk about is his father.  Honerva knows this, but Zarkon is their family, whether her son likes it or not.

“What brings you out here, Mother?”

“Oh yes…”  Honerva steps back and composes herself.  “We must talk about the recent blunders you have had.”  She says. “Our soldiers have said that Throk has been murdered during your last attempt to catch the Avatar.”

“O-Oh… yes… a shame.”

“He was burnt to a crisp.  Did the Avatar do that?” She asks, Lotor looks down.  Ezor and Narti back away, both knowing the truth. Zethrid notices them backing away.

“Must’ve.”

“Lotor, are you lying to me?”

“How dare you!”  Acxa snaps, getting involved.  “Lotor would never kill someone unless they were his enemy.  He is loyal to the Fire Nation, even though he is a banished man!”

“Acxa, please.”  Lotor glares at her.

“But milord!”

“You will not speak to the Fair Lady that way.”  He says and looks back at his mother. She was giving a disapproving look at him and his followers.  “I’m sorry Mother.” She says nothing but continued to talk.

“How could you kill someone from your own nation?”  She asks.

“Mother-”

“He was scorched by lighting.  You are the only one who could’ve killed him, unless that Avatar knows how to.”

“But Mother-”

“Don’t you value your home?  Your own blood? You are the Prince, for spirits sake.  Don’t you want to come back home?”

“More than anything, damn Mother I have been away for so long.  I would love to be back by your side, but Father doesn’t care. He only wants the Avatar back, I’m sure that he’d be happy if I died as long as the Avatar joined him.”

“Don’t say that.”  She says. “Zarkon loves you, you are his only child.”

“You call this love?!”  He snaps. He wipes the makeup off of his face and shows his mother his ugly wound.  “He did this to me! Then to rub salt in the wound he banished me!” He felt like crying.  “And you, you sat there and watched it all happen! Why would you want to help me come home now?!  I’ve been gone for almost five fucking years!”

“He took away my honor, my home, and my hearing.  I can guarantee Father hates me.” He looks away. “And you don’t care.”

“How could you say that?!”  Honerva asks, clearly crying.  “Shit Lotor I was outraged when your Father banished you.  I never fought Zarkon ever, ever! But I argued with him once over your banishment, and it was awful!”  She says. “Can’t you see what I’m doing? I love you and want you home!” Her breath starts to hitch. “I want my child home.”

Lotor stops and watches his mother cry, which is the most heartbreaking thing for any child to watch.  She cries in her hands, wanting to stop but she has been holding in all her emotions since the day he was casted out.  Honerva can never forgive herself for letting her husband burn and scar their only child. She is truly a coward.

“Mother, please.”  Lotor gently removes her hands from her face and stares at her.  “Please don’t cry.”

“I-I just-”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  I want to come home, just… I can do this myself.”

“Let me help you at least.”  She says. “I want to make up for the time I didn’t help you.”  She says while touching his burn. “I want to prove that I love you with all my heart.”  She says in a quiet voice. Lotor nods and accepts her help.

“Okay.  You can make a plan, but I am going out to look for him still.  Maybe get a clue on where they’re going, I will come back with results so they can aid you.”

“Alright.”  Honerva nods.  Lotor kisses his mother’s head and walks out.

“Girls you stay here and guard my mother.  Protect her with your life.”

“Yes sir.”  They bow. Narti turns her head to her fellow sister guards then follows Lotor out.  She caught up with him in a matter of minutes, grabbing his arm, blank eyes looking at him.

“Narti, what are you doing?  You need to stay put.” He says, Narti shook her head and taps his hand to try and communicate with him.  He waits for her tapping to end before sighing. “You know?” He asks, she nods and rests her head on his chest.  He pats her head and sighs.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, but I have this feeling that… that catching him isn’t worth it.”  He looks at her, she still snuggles into his chest. He knows she isn’t going to leave him to wander around alone.  He smiles and grabs her hand. “Let’s go.”

She smiles and follows him to a kimodo rhino.  He helps her on and hops on in front of her. She wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his back and rides away.

* * *

“Okay so lesson one is rock levitation.”  Pidge says. She stomps hard on the ground, the rock in front of her.  “You get a feel for the earth… best to not have shoes.” She tells him.  Keith sighs and takes his shoes off. “Then strike!” She used her arm, punching at the rock and sending it flying.  Keith looks at it and back at her.

“That’s it?”  He asks. “Teach me actual earthbending.”

“I am.”

“No, that’s the equivalent of throwing rocks.”  He says. “If that’s considered earthbending then I’ve already mastered it.”  He tells her. Pidge says nothing, she lifts her arm up and launched a rock at his stomach.  Throwing Keith on the ground and knocking the wind out of him. Didn’t help that he wasn’t wearing a shirt so it was direct rock to skin contact.

“Like my rock throwing?”  She asks with a giggle.

“You’re a bitch!”  He snaps, laying like a starfish.  Hunk and Lance walks back to camp with two baskets full of seaweed.  Hunk sees Keith on the ground and walks around him, giving him the most confused look, like he wasn’t well.  Lance didn’t pay him much attention and walks over him.

“Hi Sweetie.”

“Hey.”  Keith says.  The two put the baskets down and puts a pot over the fire.

“Okay now show me how to make this.”  Hunk says. Lance nods and looks at the rock and pot before him.

“Alright first you make the noodles.  You’ll have to prepare the seaweed like so.”  Lance puts the seaweed on the rock before him and began to crush it.  “First you make the seaweed kind of mushy and soft.”

“Okay?”  Hunk watches.

“Then once that’s done, you cut them into strips and let them dry like regular noodles.  But not as long or you’ll lose the flavor.” Lance says as he kneeds the seaweed. He flattens it against the rock and starts to carefully cutting it into strips.

Lance about said something else but a rock came flying at them.  Both scream and Hunk made a wall to protect them. The rock broke and Hunk lowers the wall.

“My bad.”  Keith calls.  Lance groans and went back to showing Hunk how to make seaweed noodles.

“Now, you boil water.”  He says. Hunk looks over and  back at Lance.

“Uh, I forgot to add wate-”  Lance smirks and waterbends water from the nearby river into the pot.  “Or we can do that. Whatever.” They watch the water boil and saw Matt come back on Green, Shiro lands Black and Coran hops off the bison.

“Okay we’re back.”

“Find a place nearby?”

“No, but we’ll fly tomorrow.”  Matt says while helping Green settle down.  The others nod and went back doing whatever they were doing.  Matt walks towards the pot and puts an arm on both boys heads.  “What’s cooking?”

“Oh Lance is teaching me how to make seaweed noodles.”  Hunk says.

“Sounds awful.”  He says, Lance glares at him then looks back at the pot.

“You sound awful.”

“Ouch… rude.”  Matt says and walks off.  “I’m going to hang out with the monk, he’s nicer.”

“He’s a monk, he suppose to be nice.”  Lance says and watches the seaweed cook.  Despite the two joining literally two days ago they still haven’t learned everyone’s names yet.  Well correction, Pidge has, Matt calls everyone by nicknames. Hopefully they’ll grow more use to the group and fit in, it took everyone a while to fit in, but they grow to be a part of the family at one point.

After eating the group calms down and just relaxes.  Pidge sat next to Lance and watches him bend water, she held her knees and touches the stream in his hands.  Lance looks at her, he surrounds her with it. She smiles and started messing with it.

“Waterbending is so interesting.  Something that’s everywhere at your control.”

“It’s not everywhere Pidge.”  Lance comments. “Earth is, what you can bend.”  He tells her, she looks down, wiggling her toes.

“Yeah, but not the most elegant way of bending.  Waterbending looks beautiful, earthbending looks more robust, not pretty.”  She admits, Lance chuckles at her comment and looks at her.

“You think I like looking like an elegant, scrawny man?  We can’t control where we’re born and what abilities we have, we just learn how to put up with them and make the best out of it.”

“I know that, but it makes one jealous.”  She says, Lance points at Keith who’s roughhousing with Shiro.

“You think he isn’t envious of others?”

“He’s the Avatar, he can do anything.”  Pidge says.

“Yeah, but I know he wishes he could be like everyone else.”  Lance tells her. She raises an eyebrow. “Look at it like this- imagine you had a normal life, everything is decent and fine.  Then out of nowhere your whole life changes and you learn you’re the only one who can save the entire world. And everyone who meets you counts on you or they hate you and want you dead.”

Pidge looks at Lance like a meek cat.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t like that.”  She admits. Lance nods and looks at Keith.

“Well that’s what happened to him.”  He says, she looks at Keith. He airbends at Shiro, knocking him over.  He laughs victoriously, then Shiro got up. Keith took a few steps back, then runs away, screaming like a woman.  Everyone ignores them and goes back to what they were doing.

* * *

The team checks on their supplies before they make a decision on where to go.  Four talked about it while Keith continued to train with Pidge and Hunk.

“So maybe we should go to the border, near the sea.”  Matt says, Shiro shook his head.

“No, we can’t.  Fire Nation boats will spot us.”

“So what we should stay in the woods?”  Lance asks. “Cause I’m getting sick of all these trees.”

“Oh sorry princess, any other requests?  A bed, a roof over your head?” Shiro asks.  “We’re on the run Lance, we can’t do much about it.”

“Fine, sorry I spoke up.  Clearly my input doesn’t matter.”

“Your input makes you sound like a whiny brat.”  Shiro said. Lance mocked him by mumbling what he said and continued to listen.  Coran looks at the map and points.

“How about here?”

“I think that’s the desert.”  Shiro said. Lance shook his head.

“Uh uh.  No way, I am defenseless in the desert.”  He says, Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“Just use your boomerang.”  He tells him, Lance had no comeback for that.  He just sat there, pouting.

“I think we should lay low in the woods.”  Matt says. “The Avatar is still learning how to earthbend offensively, so maybe it’s best to stay here till he has the basics down.”  As soon as he says that a rock hits his head. They all turn towards Keith who just stood there with total innocence.

“Uh… I didn’t mean to do that.”

“We need to work on your aim.”  Pidge groans. They all went back to talking, Matt holding his head in pain.

“I think Matt is right.  We need to lay low till Keith learns how to earthbend.”

“Keith has already mastered three elements.”  Lance points out. “I’m sure we’ll all be fine out there.”

“True, but we want him to get a feel for iEEK!”  Shiro shrieks as a rock flies by his face. “KEITH!”

“Sorry!”  Keith calls.  All of them groan.

“Sweetie, learn to aim!  You’ve nearly hit all of us at least once!”

“I’m sorry, I’m really trying!  This is way harder than it looks.”  Keith complains, Pidge snaps her fingers, getting his attention, and going back to training.  The rest of the group goes back to planning.

“Okay I change my mind, we should stay.”  Lance says, Coran huffs.

“Course you go with that.”

“Sorry Coran, but they’re right.  Keith can’t aim at all, he needs to learn that before we go anywhere.”  Lance says. “Plus we’re well hidden in this forest, I’m sure Lotor or the others from the Fire Nation won’t be able to find u- aim the other way!”  Lance snaps. Keith jumps a bit but aimed the rock in a different direction, it hit Pidge instead. “Oh for the love of-”

Lance got up and went to Keith to talk, or scold him, either or.  The others continued to talk. Coran gave in and agreed to stay in the forest.  If Keith can’t get the basics then they might as well stay in one spot. That was the plan in Ba Sing Se, besides talking to the king.  So they might as well stay.

Over with the younger four, they were all arguing over Keith’s bending.

“All I’m saying is that you can aim it over there away from us.”  Lance says.

“I don’t control where the rocks come up.”  Keith admits, Lance groans.

“Then Pidge is doing a shit job.”

“Rude!”  Pidge snaps.

“Well it’s true.”

“Zip it, dumb waterbender!”  She got in his face, the best she could.  “You don’t know how to earthbend!”

“Yeah, calling me a waterbender wouldn’t make much sense if I knew how to earthbend.  Look at you, being oh so observant.” Lance smirks. Pidge just stares at him blankly at that comeback.  Then she lunges in anger, Lance shrieks and tried fighting back. “AH VIOLENT! SHE’S BITING!”

“YOU ARE SO MUCH LIKE MATT I SWEAR!”

“GET OFF OF ME!”  The two fought like siblings.  Keith and Hunk watch them, the older three glare at them.  Shiro got up and broke the two up.

“Alright, break it up you two!”  He snaps. Lance pouts and glares at her, Pidge kept trying to reach.  “I said knock it off!”

“Curse my short arms!”

“Ha ha, try and reach me Tiny!”  Lance mocks her. Shiro groans.

“Seriously?  I thought this ended when you and Keith decided to play the role of oblivious idiots.”  Shiro snaps at him, Lance shuts up when he realized Shiro is annoyed. “Must you pick a fight with everyone?”

“She started it!”

“You started it!”

“You both are to blame!  Know knock it off or you’re both in trouble!  Am I making myself clear?” He asks. Both Pidge and Lance groan.  “Well?”

“Yes.”  They both said begrudgingly.  Shiro sighs and walks back to Matt and Coran, who watched the whole thing with silence.  Keith and Hunk stayed back to avoid getting in trouble. Lance and Pidge glare at one another then went back to talking about bending.

* * *

Lance was up that night, watching the moon peak out.  Keith walks up and looks at him.

“Everyone’s getting ready for bed, you staying up with Tui?”

“Yeah.”  Lance nods.  “I’ll probably go to bed later.”

“Okay.”  Keith just stares at Lance for a moment.  He wants to try something, but should he? Should he?  No… He dares it and gave him a quick kiss on his head.  “Goodnight.” He quickly says and walks off. He smiles, he did it.  Proud of himself.

Lance held his head, blushing wildly.  Why is he feeling this way over Keith? Why is he making him feel like his whole body is on fire?

Lance kept watching the sky change, he might stay the whole night due to his heart racing.  An hour passes and Shiro walks up to him.

“Still up?”

“Like usual.”  Lance says while looking at the moon.  “The darkness makes everything look cold and blue.  I love it.”

“Yeah, blue is okay… I guess.”  Shiro says. “You made wonderful food today, I never thought seaweed would be good.”

“Well you’re so very welcome.”  Lance teases, Shiro rolls his eyes.  He lightly pushes Lance, the waterbender chuckles and looks at the moon again.  “Tui looks lovely tonight.”

“She does.”  Shiro says.

“Why are you still up?”

“Can’t sleep.  Black can’t either, it’s like he wants to move a bit.”  Shiro says, then a smile grows on his face. “Let’s go explore.”

“Huh?”

“Just us three.  You, me, and Black.”  Shiro helps Lance up and points.  “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“You know Keith will throw a fit.”

“You’ll be back in the morning just fine, lets just explore.”  He tugs Lance towards Black and guides the bison away from the group.  Lance joins him and starts to chuckle. This is a bad idea but something about sneaking off seems kind of fun, and he and Shiro haven’t really talked alone in a while.  So it’ll be nice to kind of catch up.

They walk through the trees, looking at the stars that peek through the leaves, peppering the dark sky.  The light of the moon making the whole sky blue instead of black. Lance runs ahead and looks at the large opening in the distance.

“Lance don’t run ahead.”

“What?”  Lance asks as he kept running, then he notices that Shiro wasn’t around.  He made it to the large opening. He shouldn’t have run ahead. Lance just stood there and looks around for Shiro, he feels safe with Tui out but he wants Shiro just in case.

Lance walks around and sees what’s near the opening in the middle of the forest.  He stops when he sees something large laying down in front of him. A large animal with a horn looking right at him, it had a saddle on it.  Lance backs away, someone was out here.

“So you’re okay?  That’s a relief.” A familiar voice chimes up, Lance quickly turns and sees Lotor in front of him.  He wasn’t really smiling but he wasn’t looking threatening, in fact… he looked rather relaxed.

Lance was mentally cursing at himself.  He was so stupid, where the hell is Shiro?!  He glares at Lotor, trying to show no fear with him.

* * *

“Lance?”  Shiro calls, he told Black to stay back while he looked a little bit.  “This was a bad idea.” He sighs. He walks back and sees Black making happy noises, like someone was petting him.

“Buddy?  What are you doing?”  He asks, then stops when he sees her, _her,_ petting his friend.  Narti had her eyes closed and was cuddling to Black’s head, petting him as she cuddled.  Shiro points his staff at her.

She opens her eyes, hearing his movement.  She smiles and waves at him.

“Get away from my friend!”  He snaps, she cocks her head to the side.  She went back to petting Black. “Leave him alone!”  Narti just cuddles into him and looks at Shiro with her dead eyes.

Shiro walks towards him and glares at her.  She grabs his staff and tugs him closer, taking one of his hands and tapping on it, he doesn’t understand like Lotor or her friends so it wasn’t as easy to talk to Shiro as it was with them.

“What are you trying to say?”  He asks coldly. She smiles at him and kept tapping, finally he got it.  “You… you aren’t attacking?” She nods, walking back to Black and petting the bison happily.  Shiro looks at her, leaning against Black, just watching her.

“Where’s your friends?”  She shrugs. She made a three and pointed in some random direction, and a one pointing to the ground.  “Uh… three over there, and one here?” He asks, she moves her head from side to side, telling him he’s close but not quite correct.  “This would be so much easier if you could talk.” He looks at her. “Can you talk?”

Another side to side head movement.

“You’re a mute?”  He asks, she looks down and nods.  Her eye movement was normal for someone who can’t see.  Shiro messes with his hair and tried to make small talk.  He really didn’t want to talk to this girl, he hates her and claims her to be their worst enemy.  Yet he’s trying to talk to her.

“Sorry, I’ve never met someone who was blind before.”  He says, she smiles and waves her hand across her face.  Her eyes don’t follow at all, Shiro chuckles a bit. “Oh you have a sense of humor?”  He asks playfully. Narti giggles, it sounds like a kitten mewling and Shiro can’t help but find it adorable.

“How old are you anyways?  You’re as short as our friend Pidge and sound like a kitten.”  He tells her, Narti pouts and held her fingers up. She began to count.  She held up a one then a nine, Shiro had to tease. “What, ten?” She stomps on the ground and huffs, he chuckles.  “Okay okay… nineteen?” She nods.

“You cannot be nineteen.”  She kept nodding. “You’re so freaking short.”  She stuck her tongue out and kept cuddling to Black.  He watches her cuddle to the large animal, not sure what to say but at least she isn’t making his life worse.

Back in the opening Lance and Lotor were still staring one another down.  Lance not trusting him at all, even though he helped them get away.

“Tell me, is Keith okay?”

“Don’t you dare say his name.”

“I’m asking if he’s alright.”

“Yeah, he is.  No thanks to that damn general of yours.”  Lance snaps. “She killed him! I had to use oasis water to bring him back!”

“Oh… I-I’m sorry about that.”  He sounded sincere.

“Your words are nothing but wind.”  Lance says coldly. “Just go if you are not going to fight.”

“I wanted to talk, can’t I do that?”

“No, you can’t talk.  I know you want to talk to Keith and the answer is no.  Just leave him alone.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”  Lotor said. Lance stops, giving a surprised look before going dark again.

“Not interested.”

“Please, let me-”

“No.”  Lance snaps.  “No, no, no.”

“Lance, I want to talk.”  He said. Lance glares at him and had to ask.

“Why me?  Why not Shiro, or Hunk, or hell why not Keith?”  He asks. Lotor looks at Lance with the most serious look he has ever seen on this guy.

“Because-”  He rubs the right side of his face, taking off the makeup to reveal his burn.  “You are the only one who I can talk to who understands.” Lance shook his head, he really doesn’t know what Lotor is getting at.  He walks over to Lance, the boy was on the defensive and held himself close. Lotor held his hands up in defense, showing Lance that he wasn’t going to try anything.

He got Lance to ease up slightly and points at his chest.  Lance raises an eyebrow, Lotor slides his fingers on his shirt and quickly rips it off to reveal his scar.  Lance yelps and backs off.

“What the hell-?!”

“You understand what it’s like to be scared by the Fire Nation, a cruel reminder of war.”  Lotor points at the awful scar on him. Lance hates it and tries to cover it back up. “You’re ashamed like I am.”

“Shut up!”  Lance snaps.  “I don’t need to be reminded that I’m imperfect…”  Lotor walks up and grabs his face.

“Imperfect?  Your face is still perfect, you can hide your mark just fine.”  He says, envying Lance’s flawless skin, nothing ruined. Lance slaps his hand away and glares at him.

“Don’t stare at me like that, I feel exposed and it makes me sick.”

“You don’t like me complimenting you?”

“It’s disgusting.”  Lance snaps. “If you’re done then just leave me alone, I have nothing to say to you.”

“I helped you escape.”  Lotor said. “The least you can do is hear me out!”  Lance stops and glares at Lotor.

“Make it quick.”  He says coldly. Lotor sighs, finally he can talk to him.

“I… I now see that this war is pointless.  I want to help end it-”

“Oh bullshit.”  Lance snaps. “I am out of here.”  He walks off. Lotor jumps in surprise.

“You aren’t going to hear me out?”  Lance sends an iceneedle at Lotor’s neck.

“Listen to me.  I don’t believe you, and I will never, ever trust you.  You stay away from me, you stay away from my friends, and you leave Keith alone.  Or I will seriously kill you where you stand. Am I clear?” He asks in a cold voice, Lotor sighs.

“Fine, but just know what I said is true.  You may hate me all you want.” He says and watches Lance walk away to find Shiro.  “And I can see why the Avatar cares for you so deeply, you're beautiful… for a man.” He says, almost sounded like someone mocking him.

He huffs and leaves Lotor in the opening by himself.

* * *

Shiro walks across a small stream, Narti holding onto his arm and hearing the water splash under her.  She smiles at the water below her. She kicks at it, Shiro chuckles and copies her. He runs across, almost leaving Narti alone.  She squeaks as she held on tightly to his arm, girl has an iron grip.

“So sorry, did you not want me to let go?”  He asks, she kicks at his leg, that hurt. He hops away.  “Nevermind, you’re abusive! Stay away from me!” He shouts.  Narti’s mouth gapes open in shock and chases after him.

Black sides with her and chases his owner.

“Traitor!”  He yells. Narti caught up to him and clung to his back.  Shiro caught himself and chuckles, until Black caught them and tackles both of them down.  Shiro groans as the bison lays on him. He wiggles himself out and helps Narti up.

“Damn bison.”  He grumbles. “Be lucky I love you buddy.”  He says as he pats the bisons head, Black makes a happy noise.  Narti grabs his hand and started tapping, Shiro watches and waits to see what she’s trying to say.

“I’m guessing you’re talking about your pet.”  Shiro said, she nods happily. “That giant dragon you tamed, Kova was it?”  She nods again. “Kova the same way?” He asks. She nods and taps his hand again.

Shiro chuckles and lets her tap, like he understands.  He’s just guessing and getting lucky. She stops and looks at him with her dead eyes.

“You know, your eyes look like glass.”  Shiro said. Narti pouts, kind of annoyed that he’s changing the subject.  “What? They look nice.” Narti just stares, then a shy smile appears on her face.

Then Lotor walks out and calls her.

“Narti, you there?”  He sees her and Shiro.  He walks up, Shiro got a little defensive of himself.  Holding up his staff and standing near Black. Narti got in front of him and shook her head.  Telling him that Lotor isn’t here to fight, somehow Shiro got that.

He kept staring Lotor down, in case he tried something.  Lotor walks over and held his hand out, wanting her to talk to him.  She walks over and held his hand.

“Okay my little tamer, you had your fun.”  He says, she does her kitten giggle and looks at Shiro happily.  “May I have a moment?”

“What?”  Shiro asks, being a lot more patient than Lance.

“I’m just gonna say I’m sick of this war.  And Narti here is the only one with me on this idea.”  He says, Narti nods. Shiro raised an eyebrow. “The Fire Nation is now desperate to catch Keith.  Be careful, and if you need help stalling them then I can be of assistance.” He says, Shiro doesn’t believe him.

Narti smiles and nods at him, telling him that Lotor is telling the truth.  Shiro sighs and looks at Lotor.

“You have one chance to prove you’re telling the truth.”  Shiro says. He grabs Blacks reigns and walks off. “I’m giving you a chance.”

“Thank you Shiro, also tell Lance that I have no ill will towards him.”

“Got it.  See you guys some time.  I guess.” He walks off to find Lance.  Lotor held Narti’s hand and the two walked back to their rhino.

* * *

Lotor and Narti made it back and had permission to go off and find the Avatar.  The two kept quiet on their deal and not say a word to the other three. They spoke like nothing was different or unusual.

“Okay you know what I’m going to ask.”  Ezor said, Acxa groans.

“No!  You cannot take the damn waterbender!”  She snaps, the general pouts. “I cannot believe that one of our own fell in love with the enemy.”  
“I don’t blame her.”  Lotor says. “He is kind of pretty.”

“Not you too milord.”

“Trust me my dear, I am not in love.”  He says. “Besides, same sex love is illegal.”

“You were always a weird one milord.”  Zethrid says, Lotor laughs.

“You honestly think I’m going to find a man attractive?”  He asks. “You must still be sick.”

“... yeah I still feel ill…”  She admits.

“Also nothing is wrong with falling in love.  Narti is on the same boat as her, falling for the enemy.”  He teases, Narti’s mouth fell open and pushed Lotor, he chuckles and kept walking.  Ezor runs up to her and grabs her tiny friend.

“Narti has a crush?  Tell us, tell us!” She asks, Narti pretends to not hear her.  “Oh come on, you’re blind not deaf!” She says, Narti smiles. “I know you can hear me!”

Lotor sighs and kept walking as the girls harass Narti, he wonders if this is a good idea.  It may not be the smartest decision, but he feels like it’s the right one. And no one will have to know, so it’s not like anything is going to go horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm tired and suffering with a horrible knot in my back making it hard for me to sit, lay, and walk. So I tried getting this done while sitting uncomfortably on a couch for a few days. I am so unsure of this chapter but I got it done. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. The Swamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay before I begin I need to address something that has happened to me lately. It seems like whenever I go online to any website I'm getting messages about how this story is awful. This has been going on since book two and I'm starting to get sick of it. It's just like what happened with Hiding Behind a Mask. Remember that, to my past readers?  
> People are telling me how to write my story and what should change. Again it's my story and I will write it the way I envisioned it, I plan the entire story out before I write it. I don't mind little ideas or constructive criticism, but I will not let people tell me how to write this story. Also the number one complaint is that klance is a couple in it. Sorry I happen to ship them, if that is such a problem then don't read this. I am not forcing you to read it, you don't have to if you don't like it.  
> I do love writing and I love making this story. I find it fun, however I don't find getting harassed over a fanfic fun. If it keeps up then I'm just going to end this story. I don't want to do that to the people who enjoy the story, but I don't want to keep getting hate messages over a fanfiction.  
> That is all, enjoy the chapter if you can.

The group flies around after Lotor’s encounter.  Neither Lance or Shiro talked about it with anyone else.  Only they know about it, mainly because the whole group would be against it, and the two new guys would be lost and have no say.  Lance watches the flying machine behind the bison while the other three talked. They were going on about finding a place to hide and maybe a place where Keith can actually train and hide out.

Honestly the group wants one day where they can relax and not have to do anything.  Just one day, is that too much to ask?

“Keith… they’re losing momentum again.”  Lance says lazily, pointing at the machine as it was slowly falling.  Keith got up and airbends them back up, hearing Coran, Matt, and Pidge all scream.  Keith didn’t want to move back, instead he uses Lance as a seat and rests his head on top of Lance’s.  Watching the machine fly up then slowly back down. Lance didn’t complain, he just watched the machine with Keith.

“There they go again.”

“You gonna help them?”

“Nah.”  They continue to go down.  Coran and Matt started aggressively peddling.  The two watch them go up. “See? They got it.”  He says. Lance nods and kept watching.

* * *

The team lands in a darker area than the forest.  They hopped down and Lance noticed something odd. He could feel water around him, he leans to Keith to whisper.

“Do you feel water all around you?”

“Hm?”  Keith looks at him, then felt around.  Lance was right, water all around. They heard Pidge hop down then groan.

“AW!  Mud everywhere!”

“Where did you land us?”  Keith asks. Shiro looks at his map and shrugs.

“I thought I went north… but I guess I didn’t…”  Shiro squints at the map. “I mean… I went uh… where did I go?  Is this east?” Lance groans from the ground.

“Oh spirits you are bad with directions!”  He shouts. Shiro pouts and hops down.

“Well, now we’re here.”  He says. “Let’s sit here for a bit then fly away.”  He says, Pidge groans.

“Seriously?  Can’t we just leave?”

“Black needs to rest.”  Shiro tells her. She pouts and glares at the mud that covers her feet.  She can’t feel the earth around her, mud between her toes, squishing with each step.  She hates it.

_ -eit… _

Keith jumps and looks over in the distance.  He pulls his necklace out of his shirt and rubs the stones.  Lance notices him fidgeting.

“Keith, you okay?”  He asks. Keith points at the distance.

“I hear someone.”  He says. “I think… I think it’s calling to me.”  That made everyone look at Keith with concern. He started to walk towards the voice, Shiro jumps.

“Woah woah, where are you going?”  He asks, Keith points. “No you are not going!  Remember what happened last time you followed weird voices?”  He reminded Keith of the temples. Keith gave a sad look then looked back at the distance.

“But Shiro,”  He looks at the older man.  “I can’t just ignore it.” He says.  “I-I have to go.” He started walking again.  The whole group watches him go, Lance was the only one who reacted and grabs Keith’s arm in frustration.

“You are crazy if you think you’re going alone.”  He says. Keith was shocked that Lance was joining.  They look back to see if anyone else is joining. Coran shrugs.

“What the heck.  I’ll go.” He says, Hunk nods.

“Might be fun.”  He joins them. “You stay here Yellow.”  The cat walks off of his shoulders. Hunk follows the group into the swamp.  Shiro, Pidge, and Matt stay behind. The other four walk away deeper into the swampy area.

Coran and Hunk looked around the swamp in curiosity.  Lance kept holding onto Keith’s arm and looked around in fear.

“What’s calling you anyways?”  Lance asks, Keith looks at him and shrugs.

“Dunno.  But, they want me to go in and find them.  I want to see what they want, why they’re calling to me.”  He says, Lance held onto his arm tighter and looked forward.

“You hear some odd things as the Avatar, don’t you?”

“No… maybe…”  Keith thought about it.  “I-I don’t know.” He answers.  Lance smirks and kept walking. Hunk walks up behind them and started talking to them.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“No idea.”

“Oh that’s great.”  Lance mumbles. Coran looks at all the wildlife in the area.

“I haven’t been in a swamp in forever.  It’s nice.”

“Yeah… this isn’t what I’d call nice.”  Hunk comments. The group stayed quiet after that and kept walking around.

* * *

“Okay, would you rather… eat a giant fly or smell one of Green’s farts?”  Matt asks, Shiro thought about it.

“Eat a fly, cause you’ve lived with that thing and I’m sure their farts are deadly.”

“Oh yeah they are.”  Matt says with a chuckle.  Pidge made a grossed out face at the two.

“You both are disgusting.”  She comments.

“Oh be quiet and go back to playing with your hair.”  Matt says. Pidge grumbles and looks away, braiding her hair.

“Better than joining your gross game.”  She says as she continues to braid. Matt looks at Shiro again and started their game again.

“Okay so would you rather spend ten years in a prison and you can only eat mold growing near the bars… or suck the dick of a Fire Nation soldier?”  Shiro asks, Matt thought on this one.

“Depends, does the soldier look hot?  Do they look like Keith?” He asks, Shiro broke out laughing, Pidge gave a rather disturbed look.

“I am so telling Keith you said that!”

“Wait, no don’t!”

“I am!”  Shiro said through his laughter.

“He’ll be pissed off!”

“That’s why I’m telling him!”

“Asshole!”  The two guys started laughing, Pidge groaning as she finished her braid.  Just then a giant fly flies by, and it wasn’t small like a normal fly. It was big enough for someone to hold in their hand.  It was huge. They watched it go by in silence.

“... Okay I change my answer to smelling Green’s farts.”

* * *

The whole swamp was growing darker and darker the more they went in.  Lance had finally calmed down but continued to hold Keith’s arm. Now Hunk was the afraid one, Coran and Keith were as calm as ever.

Everyone remained quiet as they walked through, though they could hear Hunk’s nervous whining.

“How much farther?”  Coran asks.

“I don’t know.”  Keith says. “But I feel like we’re getting close.”

“Well whatever it is we’re staying with you.”  Lance says. “Not trusting anything that calls out to you, not after what happened like last time.”  He tells Keith. The Avatar pats one of Lance’s hands with his free one and continued to walk down with everyone.

They got stopped by a bunch of vines blocking their path, Coran tried getting through.  Lance sighs, lifting the hand Keith wasn’t holding and bends water at the vines. Cutting them down to clear the path.  Coran saw that and clears his throat.

“Ah yes… just about to suggest that.  Good job Lance.”

“Yeah yeah… whatever Coran.”  He says, Keith trying not to chuckle at that.  Coran glares at the young, disrespectful boy then decides to walk with Hunk, who was still freaking out over the area.  Poor boy wanted to go back to Black and fly out of here.

“Can we hurry up?  This place is giving me the creeps.”  Hunk whines. Coran pats his shoulder.

“It’s alright Hunk, it’s all in your head.  So just ignore it and it’ll go away.” He says.  “Besides, it’s just a swamp, nothing out of the ordinary here.”  He speaks with so much enthusiasm. Keith tightened his grip on Lance’s hand, not sure if this place was as normal as they think.

The team’s silence was starting to feel awkward and creepy, but no one spoke up.  They embraced the silent torture. Then, out of the blue, a giant monster appears out of the mud and towers over the four.

Keith lit one of his hands on fire, staring the monster down.  Lance clung to Keith, Hunk started screaming, and Coran was frozen in fear.  Before anyone could attack the monster swats at the group with it’s seaweed arms and kept knocking the team around till none of them were near the other.

They all got separated and were totally lost in the swamp.

* * *

Coran looks around, trying to find one of his friends.  No one in sight, he can’t believe they’re lost in a smelly swamp.  Curse him for speaking up so soon. Now everyone was separated, due to some unknown monster coming out of nowhere and attacking them.

He started to walk around and search for his friends, whatever Keith was looking for they can forget about.  This place is way too dangerous and they need to get the heck out of there.

“Father?”  Someone asks, Coran stops.  He quickly turns around and sees a young man standing before him.  He had shaggy brown hair and pale skin, but the same kind, gentle blue eyes as Coran.  The older man looks at the boy with shock and horror, it can’t be.

The boy starts to chuckle, the same smile, same laugh, everything.  Just how Coran remembers him.

“R-Rineng?”  He asks, the boy just smiles.  Coran shook his head. “No… there has to be a reasonable explanation for this!”  Rineng laughs.

“What are you talking about?  You sound silly Father!” He says through his laughter, then he stops and looks at Coran with big eyes, like a child asking their parents for a new toy.  “Is the machine done? You’d promise you’d take me flying.” He says with excitement. “That’s my dream remember?” Coran stops at that and stares at his son with sad eyes.

“O-Of course I remember…”  Coran says with tears in his eyes.  “I made that machine… for you…”

“So when can I go flying?  I want to touch the sky!” Rineng says happily.  “I want to soar, and see everything! You said we’d work on it together… Y-You promised me.”  He sounded a little hurt. Coran walks over and touches his son’s shoulder, wanting to comfort him.  Then he disappears, leaving Coran touching a rock. He jumps back in horror.

“Rineng?!”  He shouts in fear, tears falling down his face.  He quickly realizes what the swamp does. “No, no no no…  KEITH, HUNK, LANCE?! WHERE ARE YOU BOYS?!” He screams at the sky.  They need to get out of there, now!

* * *

Lance looks around, no one in sight.

“Guys?”  He calls.  “Hello? Anyone?”  He calls again. Lance puts his hands on his hips and sighs, no one here.  He sighs and walks around for a bit, he kept calling from time to time. “Hello… anyone?”

“Who are you trying to call Buddy?”  A low voice asks, Lance jumps and turns.

“I’m trying to find my fri-”  He stops and stares at the man before him.  He shook his head slowly. “No… no this isn’t… aren’t you-?”  The man laughs and held his muscular arms out.

“Is that anyway to greet yer old man?  Come here Lance!” He says. Lance felt tears go down his face.  It  _ is _ his father…  Same long hair, cut in a wolf’s tail, same goatee, same strong jawline.  Same muscular build, same caring blue eyes. Lance shook his head.

“But-But your dead.”

“That’s rude.  I thought you missed me.”

“I do.”  Lance cries.  “I do, more than anything!”  He looks at his father with sadness.  “But it isn’t you Papa, it isn’t!” He looks at the mud.  “This can’t be you.”

“Of course it’s me.  Come talk to me Lance, come talk to yer Papa.”  He says, Lance looks at his father through tears.  He wants this to be real, but deep down he knows his father is dead, he’s been dead for almost eleven years.

“I heard you can waterbend, and yer a master.  Mighty impressive son.” He says with a smile. Lance nods.

“I can.”  Such a short answer, his father frowns.

“Do you not want to talk?”

“O-Of course I want to talk.”

“Then talk to me.”  He says, Lance shook his head.  “I see, just hate yer old man. I thought… I thought you missed me.  Instead you’d rather find yer friends and play Mr. Hero. But admit it, yer no hero.  Yer dead weight, no one needs you on their team.” That made Lance look at his father with shock.

“What?”

“Yer useless to them, they only kept ya at first cause they could use some entertainment.  But come on, it’s the finale, they need strong able fighters, not a complete joke.” He tells Lance, he looks down and shook his head.

“No, they… they’re my friends.”  Lance says. “They trust me, they know I can fight.”

“Ya filled yer purpose.  Ya taught the Avatar how to waterbend, you were great entertainment fer a while.  But it’s time to face facts, they don’t need ya anymore. They keep ya now cause they’d feel bad if they kicked ya to the side.”

“Papa, why are you saying this?  You’d never talk like this.” He cries.  “They-They care about me, they’re my family.  Family doesn’t leave anyone behind.”

“What about yers?”  He asks, Lance went silent at that.  “Admit it, no one wants ya, yer useless, completely pointless.  What’s the point of having a son who can’t do anything a son is suppose to do?”  Lance just looks at his father in shock, tears falling down his face. “Look at ya now, a crybaby.”

“I-I’m not-”

“Ya are.  A stupid, useless crybaby.  Nothing like yer brothers, nothing like yer friends.  Yer a joke that one cares about and no one will ever miss if ya leave!”  He raises his voice, mocking his son. “Look at ya, yer a pathetic mary, ya can’t even fight back!”  Lance said nothing. “Come on, fight me! Ya don’t like what I’m saying to ya? Ya just gonna take it?  Be a man and fight me, FIGHT ME-”

Lance sent a waterwhip at him, causing him to cut a log in half.  Lance just sat there, a mess of emotions. As soon as his father was gone he cried, curling up and hiding his face in his arms, his hands curling into his hair.

He wished that that illusion was his father, but it wasn’t.  His father was kind, sweet, laid back, carefree. Always telling Lance to follow his heart, that he was proud of all his kids.  That he wanted to see them all grow up strong and proud of who they were, just like how he felt about them. That wasn’t his father, that was something else…

“Lance?”  Someone calls.  “Lance!” He slowly looks up, afraid of it being another illusion.  Instead it was Coran. Lance never felt happier seeing another human being.  He got up and ran to him, wrapping his arms around his neck, about tackling the old man in a hug.

He buries his face in his shoulder, wanting nothing more than someone to comfort him.  Coran hugs Lance back, rubbing his back and trying to calm him down. Coran could tell that whatever Lance saw upsetted him.  He lets Lance hide away, waiting for him to calm down enough so they could find the other two.

* * *

Hunk groans as he stood up, that didn’t feel good.  He notices everyone was gone.

“Uh… guys?”  Nothing. “Oh that’s not good… not good at all…”  He says as he walks around the swamp. Doing his best not to panic and cry, instead he stayed strong and looked around for his friends.  Nothing so far. He takes a deep breath.

“Okay Hunk, just remember what Shay says.  When lost you just stay put and wait for someone to find you.”  He remembers his wife’s advice and stood in place. “So I’ll just wait here… till someone finds me.”  He hums a little melody. “Hope that’s soon, cause this place is really freaking me out…” He says to himself.

He tries to take his mind off of the freaky scenery around him.

“Tsuyoshi!”  He heard a young girl call to him.  He looks to his right and sees a girl who looked about five.  She had dark skin like him, a rounder face, big brown eyes, and black hair that went past her shoulders, the end was a bun.  Hunk felt a sad smile creep on his face.

“Eni!”  He says in joy.  “You’re alive!”

“Tsuyoshi!  Tsuyoshi!” She kept calling for him to come closer.  Holding her arms up for a hug, bouncing with each step.  It was Eni, just as bouncy and bubbly as ever. Hunk couldn’t hold back, he ran to his baby sister and hugged her.

“Eni, oh Eni!  I’ve missed you so much!”

“Tsuyoshi!”  She squeaks. “I’s sowwy I couldn’t do anyting, I’s misses you.”  She says slowly, Hunk’s eyes snapped open and he realizes he’s hugging a rock.  He stares in horror, what the heck. That… That’s messed up. Something showed him his deceased five year old sister.

He sat on his knees and stares at the rock that was Eni.  Coran walks over and saw him, Lance holding Coran’s arm and following the older man.

“Hunk!  Glad we found yo-”  He saw Hunk look at him, his eyes were dark.  He already saw something, and it angered him. He slowly got up and walked past Coran, the older man could feel Hunks aura, it wasn’t what he was use to.  Lance was even looking at Hunk in surprise.

“Whoever did this is gonna pay.”  He growls. “Next time I see that monster, I’m ripping his fucking head off.”  He says to Coran, the old man stares at the earthbender in shock. Hunk kept walking, meaning every word he just said.  Screw his pacifistic ways, you show him his sister alive and well. Making her apologize for something that wasn’t her fault, getting his hopes up that she somehow survived her brutal murder?  Whoever did that was going to die rot in the soul pit in the Spirit World.

* * *

“Lance?  Hunk? Coran?  Anyone? Guys, you there?”  Keith calls. “Great… just great.”  He pouts and kicks at the mud. This is just perfect, he hears weird voices and now he’s separated from his friends.

New rule, ignore the fucking whispers of hell and just continue walking on sunshine with everyone safe and by his side.  Better than this. He walks around, ignore any whispers.

“Keith…”  Ignore all the clear as day voice that sounded just like the voice calling him earlier.  Even if they know his name, just ignore them. “Heh heh… such a pretty boy you are…” The voice started laughing.  Keith stops and swallows hard, he slowly turns and sees a woman standing there. She was far away and he couldn’t make out her face.

She had messy black hair in an odd style, she was obviously from the Fire Nation.  Her dark red pants and wrapped up crop top gave that away. However a large object was next to her, a large tree with small gold colored fruits growing from its branches.  The tree had a carving in it, he recognizes it but from where? He watches her laugh for a bit.

“W-Who are you?”  He asks, she quickly turns and runs away.  “Wait!” Keith chases after her. Trying to catch up to her the best he could but sadly she was just way too fast.  She turned a corner and Keith smirks, gotcha.

He moves slightly to the right, planning on cornering her.  He jumps out to catch her, only to run into Hunk. The bigger guy jumps but Keith couldn’t tackle the massive human down.  Keith hits his body with an off and looks up at Hunk.

“Hunk?”

“Hi.”

“D-Did you see a woman run by here?”

“Aw you’re seeing people too?”  Hunk asks in anger, Keith jumps back.

“Woah, Buddy calm down.”  Keith says. “I need to know if she ran by he-”

“Keith, whoever she is she’s gone and it’s not real!  She was an illusion!” The bigger man shouts, Keith shook his head.

“Hunk?  I-I’m sorry, I didn’t think this would upset you-”

“What do you mean?!  I saw Eni! My baby sister who was murdered!  This damn swamp made me believe she was alive, and made her apologize for her death!”  He snaps. “Why wouldn’t I be upset!”

“You saw… how?”

“I saw my son.”  Coran said. “He wanted me to take him flying.”  He told Keith, Lance looks over at him and down at the mud.

“I saw Papa, or something that was pretending to be him.”  He says, Keith looks at all his friends.

“You… you all saw someone who had died?”  He asks, they nod. Keith’s eyes went wide, does that mean the woman he was chasing was a spirit?  A dead woman? He felt scared, flat out horrified. That was just… not right.

“We… we need to get out of here, now!”  Lance says in fear, tugging on Coran’s sleeve.  The older man nods and looks at the other two.

“Let’s go men, before we see something else.”  He says, the others nod and they began to walk out.  Behind them the monster rises again. They all look back in fear.  “Run!” Coran shouts. Lance held onto Coran’s arm and ran with him, Keith right behind.

The Avatar stops and sees Hunk was standing against the monster, glaring at the beast.

“Hunk!”  He screams.  “Come on, let’s go!”  The earthbender ignores him.  He stomps hard at the ground, levitating a rock much larger than Keith or Pidge have ever managed.

He launches it at the beast and knocks it over.  Hunk makes a wall for it to land on, cracking it’s spine in two.  Then he used a nearby rock to crush the beast some more by launching the rock into its side.  The other three watch in pure shock, this wasn’t the same Hunk they knew. He was attacking like a wild animal, practically killing the beast in anger.

“Never use Eni like that again.”  He says. What happened shocked everyone even more.  The beast dissolves, seaweed falls off and into the murky water.  A human comes out, a woman, wearing plants as clothes. She was slightly older and smiles at them.

“Well I don’t know who your talking about, but sorry for upsetting you.”  She says, looking at the group. “My name is Ryner, protector of the grove and leader of the tribe inhabiting it.”  She says, the group looks at her like she was crazy.

“You mean to tell me… people live here… like live in this crazy place.”

“Yes.”  Ryner nods.  “I sensed that the grove was in pain, someone cutting it’s vines down.”  Lance raised his hand as to say “guilty”. “So I used this monster disguise to scare you all away.  Didn’t work seeing as you’re still here. And you broke my disguise.”

“Yeah…”  Hunk looks away awkwardly.  “Because… this is awkward…” He sighs.  “Can you tell me why I saw my sister?”

“I’m guessing she is this Eni you spoke of?”  She asks. Hunk nods, Ryner smiles at him and gestures around.

“Here everything is an illusion, like time death is also one.”

“Can you please elaborate more?”  Keith asks. Ryner looks at the group and shook her head.

“I cannot explain anymore to you all, unless I want to endanger my people.”  She starts moving the plants around her, Lance notices how she moves, getting the plants to follow her.

“You’re a waterbender.”  He says, she stops and looks at Lance.  “That’s how you made that disguise.”

“Well aren’t you an observant one.”  She says sweetly.

“I’m the master from the South, I know waterbending when I see it.”  He says. Ryner nods, impressed by Lance’s status.

“I see, a master bender.  Never knew that was a thing, but amazing to know it exists.”  She says. Keith walks closer to ask.

“So you use waterbending to move the plants?”

“Yes, a firebender like you wouldn’t really understand this but water-”

“Is the most efficient form of bending, can help get you out of a tight situation with the smallest amount of water.  Turns your defence into offence. Uses both positive and negative jing.” He says everything he knew about waterbending.  Ryner was shocked and slowly nods.

“Y-Yes.  You know more about waterbending than I do.”

“Well being the Avatar you’re kind of required to learn this stuff.”  He says, Ryner looks at Keith with amazement.

“The Avatar?”  She asks, Keith nods.

“Yeah, nice to meet ya.”

“The Avatar… this changes everything!”  Ryner says happily.

“Yeah it usually does.”  Lance comments, Coran chuckles at that.  Ryner smiles and held Keith’s hands. She leads them somewhere in the grove.

* * *

The team went deeper into the grove and started seeing more of the swamps inhabitants.  Lance looks around then back at Coran.

“Some of these people are waterbenders, they don’t look like tribesmen though.”

“Must be the different climates.”  He tells the younger man. Ryner leads Keith to the center and shows her the tree.

“This place is called the Banyan-grove tree.  The whole… swamp is what you called it… is actually this one tree, it’s the heart of the swamp.”  She says. The four looked so surprised, mainly because the swamp is just a giant tree.

“Cool, but this still doesn’t explain why I saw my deceased sister.”  Hunk says, Lance and Coran agree.

“Yeah, why did I see my Papa?”

“And I saw my son!”

“Oh.”  She looks at the tree.  “Like the tree, everything here is connected.  I stated that time and death are all illusions, right?”  They nod. “Well that’s because it’s true. The swamp made manifestations of your loved ones, just visions of them.  It’s to remind you that they are with you spiritually.”

That made three out of the four happy, they smiled at one another, taking comfort in knowing that their loved ones were still with them.  Even after death.

“But wait-”  Keith cuts in.  “What about the woman I saw?  I’ve never seen her before.” He tells Ryner.  She stops and thinks about that.

“Maybe she is someone you will meet in the future… or she could be someone you just don’t remember.”  She says, Keith raised a brow. He has a pretty good memory and can usually remember people well. That woman he has never seen in his entire life.

But he wants to know who she is, and how she knows him.

“This is nice and all but we need to get back to our friends.”  Hunk says. “Can you show us the way out?”

“Oh I can’t help with that.”  Ryner says. “I don’t know where you people even came from.”  She smiles sweetly. The three groan, Keith looks at the tree and points at it.

“You said this thing is connected throughout the entire swamp, right?”

“Yes.”  She nods, Keith climbs up to it with a smile.

“Then we just use this tree to look around.”  He says happily, like he said the right answer and is now proud of himself.  He touches the tree and closes his eyes. His friends gave him a look.

“Keith, I know you’re the Avatar and all,”  Lance starts. “But you are not going to find our way out by using a tree-”  Keith’s eyes snapped open, glowing bright white. Visions of the entire swamp ran through his head.  He thought about one person, Shiro.

He knew Shiro stayed put and is with the others.  He sees them sitting down, all talking and laughing.  Then the trail leads to where he was standing now. He lets go and looks at his friends.

“I know the way out!”  He airbends off of the tree happily and ran off.  “It’s this way, follow me!” He shouts.

“Hey wait up!”  Hunk calls. Lance following after them.  Coran looks at Ryner.

“It was nice to meet you all.”  He bows and runs after the three boys.  “Slow down! I’m not as fast as I use to be!”

* * *

Shiro was watching Pidge levitate some pebbles while Matt threw the airball around.

“Why is this thing so light?”  He asks. Shiro airbends in it and brought it closer to him.  “Oh, that’s why…” He says. Shiro tossed it back to Matt, he threw it in the air lazily again.

Keith jumps from out of the swamp and in front of his friends.  Everyone jumped when they saw him.

“We’re back!”  He says, Lance came in after him.

“Next time… don’t run…”  He says out of breath. Hunk stumbles on in, breathing heavily.  He can’t get a word out. Coran runs up and wipes the sweat from his brow.

“You boys… sure are fast.”  He comments. Lance looks at him like he was nuts.

“I thought… Hunk was gonna die…”  He says. Hunk falls over and lays flat on the ground, Shiro chuckles at his friends and leans in to talk to Keith.

“So dear friend of mine.”  He got his attention. “Did you find who was calling you?”

“Yeah, it was a woman.”  Keith said. “I don’t know who she is though.”  He tells Shiro. The airbender raises a brow at his friend.  That’s odd, usually Keith can at least get an idea on who’s trying to talk to him, this time he has no clue.

Keith knows this woman is important though.  Maybe not to everyone else, but to him. He needs to know who she is and why she knows him.  That will be his own personal mission. His main mission is to save the world, but he can have his own little self discovery.  Maybe she is someone he’ll meet, but maybe Ryner is right. Maybe this woman is someone he knows but doesn’t remember.

“Can we leave now?”  Lance asks Shiro, he cocks his head to the side.

“Why?  Can’t stand the swamp?”

“We just need to get out of here.”  He says, Shiro chuckles.

“You’re making it sound like it’s an evil swamp.”  He says. “It’s just an ordinary swamp.” As soon as Shiro says that a vine crawls in and slaps near Green, causing the poor animal to freak out.  The whole team tried to calm her down.


	7. Past and Trust

Keith sketches in his journal while the group flies away from the swamp.  Hunk and Lance were both conked out next to each other, more like Lance was using his big friend as a pillow while Hunk was a snoring mess.  Shiro looks over Keith’s shoulder and sees what he’s drawing.

“What’s that?”  He asks, Keith looks over and shows Shiro.

“Oh… it’s this symbol.”

“Symbol?”  Shiro asks while looking at the drawing.  It was all weird and jagged, not any shape at all.  Keith looks at it again and shrugs.

“I saw it when I had my own vision of that woman.  Next to her was a tree with golden fruit. This was carved into the tree though, I’m wondering if this symbol has any meaning.”  He says. “Have you seen this anywhere?”

“Afraid not, I don’t even recognize it.”  He says. Keith sighs and leans on Shiro’s shoulder and watches the sky go by.  He sees Coran and Matt peddling casually, finally getting into a rhythm with the machine.

He looks back at the sketch and traces the lines with his finger, he will find out what this symbol means if it’s the last thing he ever does.

* * *

The village they landed in was a bit larger than most, a few shops, homes, and a place to hopefully rest and not have to camp out.  Everyone hops down and stretches, Shiro grabs Black and looks at the team.

“Okay, I’m gonna find an inn we can all stay at.  You guys look around for a bit.” He says, everyone nods and walks around.  Keith held his journal close and started walking off, Shiro stops him. Keith looks back at Shiro with a puzzled expression.  “I know you want to figure out what this symbol means,” He points at Keith’s journal. “But don’t lose focus on what you’re currently doing.  Get some practice in today, okay?”

He asks, Keith’s thumb rubs against the spine of his journal.  He sighs and gave Shiro a soft smile.

“Okay.”  He nods.

“That’s all I ask of you.”  He pats Keith’s shoulder and walks off.  Keith’s smile faded as soon as Shiro walked off.  He walks around the town alone, looking at all the signs, trying to find a library of some sort.

He finally found one, it was small but it might have something.  Worth a shot. He walks in and was about to be greeted by the old man in there, but he cuts off at the sight of Keith.  A common reaction now, seeing a firebender usually meant violence and tyranny. Keith just looks at him and slowly walks in, trying to show that he was just browsing.  He doesn’t want to cause trouble.

He skims through titles, opens a few scrolls.  Anything on war history might help, symbols of important people.  Hell he’ll look through the family symbols if it means any sort of clue on who the mysterious woman was.

He took everything that he thought could help and began skimming through.  Reading all the characters quickly in hopes something catches his eye. Nothing.  He keeps reading down the page, nothing about symbols or trees of golden fruit, nothing.  He sets the first book aside and opens the next one.

He heard someone else walking up the stairs, funny since the place was practically empty, except the person who owned the place.  Keith was so engrossed in his search that he didn’t notice.

“Thought I’d find you here.”  He looks up at the familiar voice.  Lance smiles and walks towards him. He puts one hand on Keith’s chair and the other on the table, leaning down to get a view of what he was doing.  “What’s all this?”

“Research.”  Keith said. “I want to know more about that woman, but I have no clue who she is.”  Keith points at the drawing he made. “But I have a feeling this symbol will lead me to her.”  He says. Lance picks the journal up and looks at the symbol with a raised eyebrow.

“What kind of symbol is this?”  He asks in general confusion. Keith takes the journal back with a sigh.

“If I knew that then I’d have a better lead, but I don’t.”  Keith looks at it. “But I recognize it, I swear I’ve seen this before… I just don’t know where.”  He says. Lance looks down at all the books and scrolls Keith plans on going through. He walks to the other side of the table and sat down.  He took a scroll and opens it up.

“Any other clues on this thing?”

“No.  The woman was standing next to a tree, this symbol was carved in it.”

“Was the tree anything special?”  Lance asks as he looked through the symbols on the scroll.  Keith shrugs.

“It was kind of special.”  He admits. “It was growing small golden fruit.”  That got Lance to look up at him.

“Really now?”  Lance asks, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.  Keith nods, he points at the symbol.

“And this was carved in it.  So this has meaning, and maybe the tree does too.  But trees are such a commonly used symbol that I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.”  He says, Lance shook his head.

“I think you’re on the right track with the symbol, but maybe that whole tree was important too.”

“What makes you think that?”  Keith asks. Lance puts the scroll he was reading on the table for Keith to see, the Avatar looks at what Lance was pointing at.

“Trees are a common sign of family and blood.”  Lance says. “So this woman might be connected to the symbol on the tree, or to you.”  He tells Keith, he shook his head.

“Not to me.”  Keith says. “You know my history, there is no way it could be connected to me.”  He looks down in sadness. Lance stops and looks at the drawing of the tree.

“S-So that must mean this symbol is that lady’s family symbol.  Which is why it was carved on the tree.” He says. Keith looks at Lance and nods happily.

“You might be onto something.”  He says, then thought again. “But what about the gold fruit?”

“Must be a sign of her family.”  Lance said. “Maybe it’s her name or something like that.  Or it could be a sign of wealth?”

“No way, her clothes were those of a commoner.”

“Where was she from?”

“The Fire Nation.”  Keith said. “I know how fashion works in that nation, trust me on that.”  He says with a smirk. Lance chuckles and looks back at the scroll.

“What did she look like?  Was she beautiful?”

“I don’t know.”  Keith says. “I couldn’t see her face.  But she had all the common traits of a nomad.  Black hair, pale skin, and wore red. She was from the Fire Nation.”  He says while messing with his own hair. Lance grabs a book and flips through.

“This says the names of all the honored families in the world.  So we need to find one with that symbol and we’ll have your mystery woman.”

“Right.”  Keith nods, he looks at his sketch and traced it with his finger again.  The odd familiar feeling he got when looking at it made it harder for him.  He wants to know who she is, meanwhile Lance is looking through a book not knowing what she even looks like, just helping him with his investigation.  “Why are you helping me anyways?”

Lance didn’t look up from the book, he kept flipping through, reading column after column of text.

“Because it has something to do with you.”  He admits. “It’s important and might be helpful with mastering earth… or help with the war.”  Keith lets out a huff.

“So you’re only helping because this might be something important to me being the Avatar?”  He grumbles. “You sound just like Shiro at this point.”

“No.”  Lance got up and walks towards Keith again.  “I’m helping you out cause I know it’s important to you.”  He leans his forehead against his and looks right at him. “Shiro didn’t go into the swamp, he didn’t see anything.”  He brushes some of Keith’s hair back and smiles. “But Hunk, Coran, and I have. We saw someone important to us that we loved.”

“And even if you don’t believe it, I think this woman is someone important to you.  Who loves you, you just don’t know her yet.” He says kindly. “That’s why I want to help.  Plus I know you’ll get stressed out and obsess over finding out about this woman.”

“I will not.”

“Will too.”  Lance chuckles.  “You tend to obsess over something when you don’t know it, like when you bend.  If you don’t know how the element works you obsess over it till you finally give up.”  He says. “This vision was important to you, and I want to make sure you follow through with finding her and not quit when all seems hopeless.”

“Heh.”  Keith smirks.  “You have way too much faith in me.”

“No, I admire you.  You’re my hero, remember?”  Lance asks. Keith felt his face heat up, Lance starts to chuckle again, seeing his obvious blush.  He pulls away from the Avatar’s face and smiles. “We’re staying at the inn that has a huge rock right next to the door.  And remember to stop and practice earthbending, alright?” He asks, Keith rolls his eyes.

“Got it, nagger.”

“Shiro told me to remind you.”  He says. “Blame our strict leader.  By the way Pidge is training with Hunk on the outskirts of town, just so you know where they are.”  He began to walk away. “See ya at the inn Sweetie.” He calls, Keith nods.

“Yeah, see ya.”

* * *

Keith walks out about an hour later, he sees Pidge and Hunk both practicing their earthbending.  Hunk lifts up two rocks while Pidge kicks one out of his grasp. Keith watches to see what they’re doing.  Hunk made a wall and Pidge launches off of it and stomps hard on the ground, causing a massive crater. Such a tiny person can cause so much destruction, Keith was impressed.

Pidge straightens herself and smiles at Hunk.  He walks up to her and they both high five, Pidge practically bouncing on her toes, while Hunk was bending at the knee to get to her level easily.  They were laughing and cheering.

Keith claps for them and walks up.

“Nice you two.”  He says. “What were you doing?”

“Since Hunk and I are earthbenders, we thought we could spice up the battlefield by combining our powers.  Earthbenders are deadly when there is more than one.” Pidge explains.

“And since I’m more defensive and Pidge is more offensive, we can deal some massive damage.”  Hunk says. Pidge nods and looks at the Avatar.

“So you ready to practice?  Shiro said you’d be out here after you did your research on that mysterious woman.”  She says with wonderment. Keith rolls his eyes.

“Yeah I’m ready to train.”  He says with a smile. Pidge nods and got into position.

“Okay I’m gonna show you a brand new technique that you haven’t seen before.”  She says, Keith nods and watched carefully. Pidge earthbended a bunch of rocks to her forearm and shows Keith her creation.  Keith looks at it with curiosity, impressed with what she made. “Earth gauntlet.”

“Amazing!”  He says. Hunk nods in agreement and made his own.  Yellow crawls off of his shoulder to go sniff the gauntlet on his arm.

“It is, I prefer the armor but this is cool too.”

“It’s more of a basic version of the armor Hunk.”  Pidge says. “But this is more suited for Keith, it allows the rest of the body to remain flexible.”  She tells him. Meanwhile Keith is trying to make the gauntlet. He carefully earthbended on his arm and smiles as he made it.  “Good job, now punch something.”

Keith looks at the tree behind him, he pulls his fist back and punched the tree with all of his might.  The gauntlet broke at the contact, the tree fell over, snapping in half. Pidge looks, jaw dropped in amazement.  Hunk was hiding behind his new tiny friend. Keith looks back, very proud of himself, giving his friends an adorable smile.  His eyes shining happily.

“That.  Was. AMAZING!”  Pidge jumps in his arms, Keith caught her and twirls her around.  Both giggling like children. Hunk slowly walks over to the tree, Yellow crawls off to sniff and explore the tree and it’s damage.

“Wow… you destroyed this poor tree.”  He says. Keith smiles and looks at the damage.  Pidge hops down and walks over, she looks at it with Hunk.  “He snapped the tree in half.”

“Oh please Hunk, you’d break a tree like a toothpick.  You can punch and break a bolder.” She says. Hunk held his arms up in defense, Yellow crawling his way back on his owners shoulder.

“Well yeah, but I hate doing that.”  He says, Keith crawls onto the tree. He starts balancing on it and walking across.

“What now?  I heard Hunk mention armor?”

“Yeah.”  Pidge nods.  “It’s the same way as the gauntlet but your whole body.”  She tells him, Keith nods and tried to surround his body with earth.  He did it and only his eyes and nose showed. He looks at Pidge to see if he did it right, she nods and gave him a thumbs up.

He walks a bit, not liking that he was a little slower.  He gets rid of it and shakes the dirt off of his body. Finally dusting his shoulders off.  Pidge walks up and touched his hair.

“You still got dirt in your hair.”  She says. Keith scratches his head, dirt flying out of his hair.  Pidge held her arms up to shield her eyes, laughing the whole time.  “Oh spirits Keith!” He looks up with a smile, his hair everywhere.

“Got it.”  He says. Hunk and Pidge both laugh at his response.  They decided to all go over the basics after that, Keith following along easily.  He’s got defense down thanks to Hunk, and now Pidge helping him with offense he’ll get it in no time.

Keith was happy, this was way easier than water.  It’s like when he was learning airbending. He took a break and watched Hunk and Pidge do their team attacks, the two were an amazing team.  They worked so well together, almost like they didn’t need to talk to one another, their actions did all the talking.

They were a deadly duo, one who was massive and all defense, the other quick and attacks without hesitation.  He wonders how different their style would be if Hunk was more attack and Pidge was more defense. Something tells him it wouldn’t be as fun to watch, Hunk is slow and Pidge is tiny.  Those wouldn’t work.

Keith got up and tried to mimic Pidge, Hunk notices him and made a wall for Keith to kick off of.  He does so, sending the wall off. He lands, causing a massive crater, Pidge looks at him with shock.

“You gotta show off?”

“Hm?”  Keith looks at her.

“You sent the wall off with a kick then landed and made a crater bigger than I could ever make.”

“Poor trees…”  Hunk comments, looking at the damage the wall caused.

“I just copied you.”  Keith said. “Didn’t mean to kick the wall away.”  He looks at the damage he’d done, not feeling any remorse for the plant life.

“Pidge, Keith’s the Avatar.”

“So?”  She asks.

“The Avatar’s powers are far greater than an average bender.  Keith masters elements faster and stronger.” He says. “I am certain what we saw was not his full potential, that was just practice.”  He tells her while Keith walks towards the damage with Yellow.

“I thought the Avatar just mastered all the elements.”

“No, it’s way more than that.  Keith sometimes goes in this freaky state where his eyes glow white and goes nuts with his bending.”  Hunk says. “He also talks to spirits.”

“Jeez, lucky bastard.”

“I know.”  He says. “Want to get him away from the broken trees before he hurts himself?”

“It’ll be his own fault if he does.”  Pidge says and watches him.

* * *

Shiro brushes Blacks fur while sitting on the window of his room at the inn.  Lance walks in to talk and sees him, he chuckles.

“You can’t stay away from that bison for more than five seconds.”

“You’d understand if you had a pet.”  He tells the waterbender. Lance rolls his eyes and sat on the bed near the window, Shiro lifts one leg over the windowsill, the other one propped up and leans against the wall.  Black’s face could be seen behind Shiro’s relaxed body. “So hows our little Avatar?”

“He was at the library last I saw him, though I saw a tree get knocked down while walking back so I assume he’s training now.”

“Thank the spirits he listened.”  He says. “So why did you come in here, did you need to talk to me about something?”  Lance’s face grew serious and looks at his friend.

“I wanted to talk about Lotor… he talked to you too, didn’t he.”  He says, Shiro looks at his hand that was dangling on his knee. He nods, Lance huffs.  “Course he did.”

“You seem bothered by it.”

“Yeah, cause I don’t trust him.”  Lance snaps. “Don’t tell me you believe in his bullshit.”

“Lance I’m skeptical, but he said he was going to stall them so Keith can master earth.”  He says. “Maybe we can put a little faith in him, we’ll need all the help we can get with this war.”

“So you choose to trust the guy who tried capturing Keith countless times?  The man who’s generals attack us to near death? One of them killed Keith!” He snaps.  Shiro held his arms up in defense.

“I know you’re upset because of that-”

“Is it only me then, the only one who gives a damn about this whole team?!  Cause right now I feel like the only sensible one!”

“Didn’t Lotor knock her out so you two could escape?”  Shiro asks, Lance’s eyes went feral and he looks away.

“I don’t care!”

“You got out alive and saved Keith’s life.  If it wasn’t for him you’d both be dead and we’d all be screwed.”  Shiro started sounding serious.

“I don’t believe a damn word he says!”  Lance says. “He’s trying to lead us in a false sense of security!”  He tells his leader.

“Give him a chance, Narti told me that he’s been through a lot since his banishment.”

“Oh boo hoo, sob story.  We all have one.” He snaps.

“His father burnt his face because he disobeyed.”  Shiro says, Lance felt himself stop for a moment. He slowly brushes his fingers against his clothes, where his scar is.  So that’s what happened to his face…

“I-I still don’t care.”

“You’re being very convincing.”  Shiro says with a smirk, Lance groans in frustration.

“Take this seriously Shiro.”  He says. “He’s crazy, but also good at talking.”  Lance tells him. “He’s manipulative, he knows what to say.  I almost fell for it, but I wasn’t going to listen to his lies.”

“I know it’s harder for you to trust people.  But I think you need to reconsider and maybe give him a chance.”  He says, Lance looks down.

“I told him to stay away from us, if he so much as crosses the line slightly, I’m sticking an iceneedle in his throat.  Are we clear on that, Shiro?” He asks. Shiro gives Lance a very concerned look, he was dead serious about killing Lotor.  Lance waits for Shiro’s answer.

“How about we wait, I mean killing is never the-”

“I won’t listen to your bullshit monk ways.  That may be the way of the Air Nomads, but not to the Water Tribe.  You mess with one’s family you will regret it. Lotor’s party almost cost us someone, and has hurt all of us on multiple occasions.  I will not hold back in killing any of them.” Lance says. Shiro could not believe Lance was the one talking right now. His voice was lower than usual, his eyes screamed death.  He was a completely different person at the moment.

He got up and walked out.

“I got to say my piece.”  He says. “See you later.”  With that he left a shocked Shiro alone.  Black makes a noise, concerned for his owner who has been sitting still for far too long.  He looks back at his friend and pets him to calm himself down.

Lance was being very concerning, and he knows whatever he says Lance will just brush off.  Maybe he’ll listen if he’s more aggressive… but Shiro doesn’t want to yell.

* * *

Keith walks in and stretches his back, pleased at the cracking noise it made.  He sees Shiro mess with a gear that was left over from Coran’s scavenging.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”  Shiro messes with the gear and looks at the Avatar who looks out the window.  Smiling at the night sky. “How did your day go?”

“Pretty good.  Got a lead on that woman, and I learned how to make armor out of earth.  I can punch trees and break them!” He said happily.

“Oh great, something you didn’t need to know.”  Shiro jokes around, Keith airbends at him, pushing him off the bed.  Shiro chuckles and slowly gets up and off the floor. He lays back down and messes with the gear again.

Keith gave a look and went back to looking out the window.  Black’s face pops up and looks right at Keith. He says nothing, just blinks at the Avatar.

“Heh, hey Black.”  He says. Black licks Keith’s face, he pulls away, his bangs sticking straight up.  His eyes wide and face surprised, yet disgusted. Shiro broke out laughing, Keith grabs the blanket on his bed and wipes his face off.

Keith glares at Shiro and lays down.  He’d rather deal with his fucked up dreams than Shiro being a jerk.

In the other room Pidge was jumping on the bed while Matt was reading something on his bed.  He loves his sister, but she was being annoying and she was going to break the bed.

“Pidge, can you knock that off?”

“Huh?”  She looks at her brother and pouts.  “Why? I haven’t broken the bed yet.”

“Yeah but you will, you can kick rocks with ease.  I’m sure you have power to break a bed.” Matt points out.  “If you have extra energy then go outside and goof off till you’re tired.”  He tells his sister. She groans and hops out the window, making sure not to hit Green on her way out.

She began to earthbend and goof off like Matt said.  She creates a few small pillars and hops on one. She jumps from one to another, just jumping back and forth.  She stops and looks at the roof of the inn, Lance was sitting there all by himself. Pidge was just wondering how he even got on the roof.  She uses the pillar to carry herself towards the roof.

She hops on and walks over to Lance, who looks lost in his own thoughts.  She smirks, jumping behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Lance shrieks and looks at the crazy girl.

“P-Pidge?!”

“Hey, you seemed lost so I decided to help you.  You’re welcome.”

“Oh spirits you startled me.”  He gasps. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that.  More like, why are you up here?”  She asks. Lance looks over at her and pats her hand.  She grabs it and looks at what he was staring at. “What are you looking at?”

“Tui.”

“Tui?”  She asks.  Lance points at the moon with his free hand.  She looks up at the moon and raised an eyebrow.  “The moon?”

“Tui is the moon spirit.  She taught me how to waterbend, as well as La.”  He says. “I usually stay up and sit with her.” He says.  “I feel comfort from her.” He tells her. Pidge just looks at the sky with him.  She got bored at staring at the moon and looks at Lance.

“Hey, wanna do something fun?”

“What?”  He asks.

“Go out and do something fun.”

“Like run off?”

“Yeah, go explore in the night.”

“Uh…”  Lance looks around.  “Last time I went out I ran into trouble.  With my luck I should just stay put.”

“Oh come on!”  Pidge whines. “Don’t be lame!  Let’s go have some fun!” She says, grabbing his arms and trying to tug him off the roof.

“Pidge I have horrible luck.  I don’t want to get into anymore trouble.”  He says. Pidge smirks and yanks on his arm.  Lance waits for her to stop tugging on his arm, she didn’t stop.  He groans and got up. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Yay.”

“I see Lotor again I’m gonna lose it.”  He says. Pidge grabs Lance’s waist and walks on a piece of earth.  Lance had an arm on her shoulder

“Relax, it’ll be fine.”  She lowers both of them to the ground and walk towards the outskirts of town.

“Wanna bring Green along?”

“Nah, we’ll be fine.”  She says and held Lance’s hand.  “Let’s see what we find.” She runs into the dark, Lance about trips but runs with her.  He kept praying to Tui that nothing bad will happen, hopefully nothing bad will happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I am tired, I have a bruised spine, and I hate my life. The next chapter you'll see what these two idiots end up doing so yeah... also mystery woman is going to be brought up a lot in this book so keep that in mind.


	8. Avatar Day

Lance groans as he woke up.  He was laying on a wooden platform that jumps with every bump it hits… are they moving?  He sits up and held his head in pain, feeling a bump on the back of his skull, he can’t remember what happened.  He remembers walking down the woods with Pidge then it all blacked out.

He looks to his left and sees Pidge in the same state, knocked out cold and laying against some hay.  Another bump makes him jump. He looks over and sees some Earth Nomads on top of the wagon they were on.  Lance slowly crawls towards Pidge to check on her, trying to stay quiet.

He shook her slightly, enough to wake her up.  She looks up at Lance and held her head in pain.

“Lance?  Spirits… where are we?”

“Shhh.”  He keeps her quiet, that didn’t seem to help since the two who were steering the wagon heard them and were already looking down.

“Ey, they’re awake.”

“I can see that.”  The two kept looking at Lance and Pidge.  “Quite an odd couple we have here.”

“Who are you two, and where are you taking us?”  Lance asks. The two men chuckle and held their arms up.

“At ease.  We ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

“Oh yeah right, you knocked us out and kidnapped us!”  Pidge said. Lance nods in agreement.

“Just who are you two?”

“We’re from a nice village called Chin Village.”

“Never heard of it.”  Lance says in a sassy tone.

“I have.”  Lance looks at Pidge who spoke up.  “I’ve heard of that place.” She says.  “Someone named Sorri came here and silenced the fight between two villages.  Later on a woman named Trigel came in and took the island that was split from Chin Village.”

“What?”  Lance was confused.  He has never heard of these people… okay that’s a lie.  Sorri was the Avatar before Keith’s predecessor, he thinks.  Sorri was a native to the south. But the rest of the story made no sense.

“We are having a celebration today, you two can join us!”  One man says. Lance gave a look.

“First you knock my friend and I out, now you tell us to join you for a party?”  Lance asks. “Pass.”

“We are sorry for the rude introductions.  We thought you were soldiers from the Fire Nation.”

“We’re wearing green and blue.”  Pidge points out.

“Dark, can’t see well.”

“I’m gonna lose it.”  Lance mumbles. Pidge pats his back and sighs.

“What kind of celebration is it?”  She asks.

“Why it’s Avatar Day!”  One of the men said happily.  Both Pidge and Lance look at one another.

“Avatar Day?”

* * *

Chin Village was busy with people running around left and right.  Lance looks over and sees three giant statues on floats. One of Sorri, he recognized that one.  A woman with awful looking hair, he hopes that it’s just the statue. And a common yet ugly looking Fire Nomad.  Pidge elbows Lance and points at it.

“Check it out, it’s Keith.”  She says. Lance covers his mouth, laughing into his palm.  Spirits, it looked nothing like Keith. But Lance can’t unsee it and it’s making it all the more hilarious.

The floats all lined up, Lance and Pidge watch with some sort of happy feeling.  It was nice to see a change in attitude for once. Then a man with a torch comes in, Pidge points at him, Lance responds to her pointing with a confused look.  They got an answer when they threw the torch at the floats.

“Down with the Avatar!”  Everyone around them chants, both jump at the sudden change in attitude.  This wasn’t what they thought it was.

Lance notices a pond near the floats, he runs up to it and waterbends on the floats, causing it to douse the flames.  Pidge runs up to his side as the people around him started protesting at his actions. He just looks at all of them with slight regret.

“What is the meaning of this?!”  A man walks out in anger. “I wanna know why you did that!”

“And I want to know what this is all about!”  Lance snaps. “This is a mockery to the Avatar, you have no right to do such a thing!”

“In our village we can.”

“And who says?”

“Me.”  The man says.  “I’m Mayor Ozar, I am the leader of Chin Village.”  He says. “We’ve been celebrating Avatar Day since our great leader Chin was murdered by Avatar Sorri.”  He snaps.

“Then why burn down two other Avatar statues?  Seems unreasonable if you hate only one.”

“But we don’t.  Avatar Trigel took the land that Sorri separated from Chin Village.  She made it into her own world, her husband was a part of that damn land that was taken.  The other Avatar is someone we hope to see perish. The Avatar is nothing more than a badge of evil!”

“That isn’t true!”  Lance snaps. “The Avatar now is a hero, he isn’t the same person who killed your leader!  Don’t blame him for his past lives doing!”

“Yeah Keith is a good guy!”  Pidge spoke up. “We should know, we know the guy!”

“You know the Avatar?”  Ozar asks. Pidge and Lance nod proudly.

“Yeah, I’m the Avatar’s current teacher, and Lance is his boyfriend.”  She says. Lance nods again.

“Yeah I’m- wait no I’m not!”

“Yeah you are.”

“No I am not!”  Lance’s face was beat red.  “I am not dating Keith!”

“You act like a couple.”

“We do not!”  Lance snaps.

“Then why do you call him “Sweetie”?”

“Shut up!  I don’t call him that!”

“Yes you do, don’t fucking lie to me!”

“Enough of this!”  Ozar snaps. “You two are not welcomed here.  Friends of the Avatar, I command you to both leave!”

“No, you cannot blame the Avatar for his past lives mistakes!”  Lance says. “That’s unfair and wrong to do. He saves lives and helps people now!”

“Yeah, he’s a good person!”  Pidge shouts. “And we’ll clear his name right now!”

“Oh really?”  He asks. “And how will you do that?”

“We’ll bring him here!”  Pidge says, Lance gave a worried look.  This doesn’t sound like a good plan at all.  They went out walking and now they’re in some Avatar hating village, and they plan to clear Keith’s name by bringing Keith to the village.  They should be running away, not doing this! Maybe as soon as they let them go they’ll book it back to the village and leave this awful place, but he was certain Pidge would tell Keith and get him to come here.  This couldn’t get any worse.

“Fine, until the Avatar comes here, we will take his spouse as prisoner.”  It got worse.

“WHAT?!”  Lance freaks out. 

“Well he’ll obviously come for you.”  The Mayor said. “Cuff him.”

“Why does thIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!”  He shouts as he gets cuffed and glares at Pidge.  “You are so on my list girl! You hear me?! ON! MY!  LIST!”

“Uh… I change my mind-”

“Too late.”  Ozar said. “You may go, but that waterbender will remain prisoner till the Avatar shows up himself.”

“Don’t worry Lance!  I’ll get everyone, just wait here and don’t die!”  She shouts and ran out of Chin Village, she has no idea how far away everyone is but Lance’s freedom is on the line and she is the only one who knows this and can get him out.

* * *

“I swear I can’t find her anywhere.”  Matt said. Shiro and Keith both look down in thought.  The three have gone off and went looking for Pidge when Matt came into their room stating his sister hasn’t come back that night.  While looking Hunk told them that Lance was gone too, he and Coran were looking for him the whole time.

“She couldn’t have gone far.”  Shiro tells Matt. “We need to spread out more.  We can cover more ground and have a better chance on finding both of them.”

“Where could they have gone though?”  Keith asks. “If they went for a casual walk then they’d be back by now.  You don’t think they got captured, do you?” He asks Shiro. The Air Nomad sighs.

“Keith, I’m hoping that that is the last thing that happened to them.  But looking at our current situation… I feel like that is the case. We need to look around and find out who took them.”

“Hopefully not the Fire Nation.”  Matt says. “I do not want to lose my only family left.”

“Don’t worry Matt, we’ll find her.”  Shiro gave Matt a pat on the shoulder, reassuring his friend that his sister is okay.  Coran runs up to them and takes deep breaths.

“Okay… I cannot find Lance anywhere, and no sign of Pidge.”  He says, Hunk walks up after that.

“Yeah I’m at a loss guys.  I can’t find them for the life of me.”  Hunk says, just then Green’s head shot up.  Matt looks at her and pats her head.

“You worried about Pidge?”  He asks. Green lets out a snort and bolts off.  “Wait, wait girl!” He tries calling for Green, but she’s long gone.  She comes back moments later, holding Pidge in her mouth. Poor girl was being dangled by her dress collar and was passed out due to exhaustion.  Matt runs over and takes Pidge out of Green’s mouth.

Pidge groans in discomfort as everyone crowds her.  She woke up slowly, looking around happily.

“I made it… it’s not my day today.”  She says with a smirk. The whole team sighs in relief and hugs her.  She smiles at the embrace and then got serious. “Guys… we have to… go to… go to Chin… Chin Village.”  She says breathless.

“Chin Village?”  Shiro asks. “Why?”  Pidge takes a moment to regain her breath.

“Lance is being held prisoner there.  They won’t release him unless Keith comes.”

“Huh?”  Keith asks.  “Why me?”

“Because they want to see the Avatar.  Now come on, I’ll fill you all in on the way.”  She says as she hops onto Green, Matt right behind her.  The others hop on Black and rode after Green, following Pidge to Chin Village.

* * *

They arrived in the village, Ozar looks over at Pidge riding her large and terrifying pet.  Most villagers ran in fear. Moments later Black flies in and lands right behind Green. They all hop off and looked at Pidge to tell them who took Lance, she gestures to the village mayor.  Keith decided to walk up since he wanted to see the Avatar so badly.

“So you’re Ozar?”  He asks. Ozar glares, the villagers backed away from Keith in fear.

“And you must be the Avatar.  Amazing how you’re two horrific things in one awful package.”

“Okay, all pleasantries aside.  Where’s Lance?” He asks coldly.

“Ah yes, your little waterbender.  He’s being held captive right now.”

“I know that, my friend Pidge told me all about that.  And honestly I’m quite disgusted.” He says in a sassy remark.  “You have no right to take him and hold him prisoner for something he didn’t do.”  He says.

“Follow me and I shall take you to him.”  Ozar ignores Keith’s comments and leads him to the prison Lance was staying in.  When they got to him, no surprise he was pouting in the cell, wanting out. He looks up and gave a defeated smile.  Keith sighs but smiles back.

“This is why I worry about you.”

“Oh shut up Mullet and get me out of here.”  He teases back.

“Fine fine.”  Keith looks at Ozar.  “Let him go.” Ozar gestures to his guards to free Lance from the cage.

“Finally, this place is so uncomfortable.  May I suggest some place to sit, make it feel more homey-”  The guard hits him, getting him to move. “ACK! Fine, I’m moving.  Asshole.” The guard leads him out, still cuffed behind his back. “Okay okay, cuffs can come off now.”

“We won’t unless the Avatar goes along with your idea.”

“Again my friend filled me in.  I’ll serve trial under Sorri’s name.”  He said. “Please uncuff my friend.” He says.  Ozar nods to the guard, he uncuffs Lance. The waterbender glares at the two then walks up to Keith.

“You sure you’re okay with this?  We can always just high tail it out of here.”

“I’m fine.  Not happy that you two ran off but it isn’t the worst thing to happen to us.”  He says. “And at least you’re not hurt.”

“For once.”  Lance chuckles.  “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here.”

“I know you will.”  He smirks at Lance, giving him a playful brow.  “You saved me once, I know you’ll save me again.”  He says, causing Lance to chuckle playfully. The other two in the prison groan and pushed Keith in the cell.

“Enough of your flirting, just go.”

“Fine, we’ll get you Sweetie.  I promise.” He calls. Keith gave a two finger salute through the cell bars.  Ozar pushes Lance out.

“So you do call him Sweetie.”

“What I call him is none of your business.”  Lance growls. He was lead out and was met by hugs from all his friends.  Then a smack on the head from Shiro. Lance squeaks and held his head in pain.

“What is wrong with you?  Getting caught like that!”

“Blame Pidge!  She just had to tell everyone my “relationship” with the Avatar!  Plus it was her idea to go on an adventure at night!” That caused Shiro to hit her, she has the same reaction as Lance.  He went right back to Lance, finger in his face.

“You interfered with their festivities and caused a scene!”  He snaps. “Now Keith has to undergo some trial that’s not his fault.  And I knew Keith wouldn’t say no to bailing you out!”

“I get it!  I messed up, but it’s not entirely my fault!”

“You both are in trouble!”  Shiro snaps, pointing at both of them.  They hung their heads in shame, not liking the scolding at all.  Hunk looks at the villagers in concern, then walks up to the troublemakers.

“So what’s the plan?”  He asks. Shiro responds before the two could talk.

“We sit here and wait for the trial.  We’ll help prove Keith’s innocence and then leave, and you two will never be left alone again.”  He scolds.

“You are not in charge of me!”  Pidge gave Shiro an attitude.

“You are never to be left alone with Lance again.”  Matt said. Pidge gave her older brother a betrayed look.

“How could you do this to me?!”  She whines, Matt only rolls his eyes.  Coran decided to cut in and speak up.

“I think we should talk to their leader, maybe get to talking about freeing Keith and getting out of this crazy place.”  The older man said. Shiro nods in agreement.

“Yeah, we’ll talk to him.”  He looks at Pidge and Lance.  “You two, stay put. Hunk, you watch them.”

“Aw man.”  Hunk complains.  Matt hops off of Green and follows Shiro and Coran.  The younger three look at each other in silence. “Soooo what do you guys want to do?”

“I dunno.”  Pidge shrugs.  Lance looks at the sky while thinking.

“Why can’t we talk to the big guy?”

“Cause you and Pidge are already in trouble.”  Hunk points out. “You shouldn’t provoke anymore issues… at least not while I’m watching over you two.”  He says. He watches his cat crawl off his shoulder and rest on Black’s head. He didn’t notice Lance’s devious little smirk that grew on his face.

“How about we help out with proving Keith’s innocence.”

“You’ve caused enough trouble-”

“Yeah!”  Pidge cuts Hunk off with a cheer.  “Let’s go prove our friends innocence!”  She runs ahead. Lance follows after her cheering as well.  Hunk watches the two run off in a random direction.

“Wait!  Come back!”  Hunk calls. “Aw… we’re going to be in so much trouble.”  He follows after them.

* * *

Shiro walks up to the mayor with Coran and Matt, the three thought that they could talk to him to see if they could get Keith out of jail.  The mayor was sitting in the main room, proud as ever. Ozar notices the three walk in and groans.

“What do you three want?”

“We want to know if there is anything we can do to help aid Keith.  He is our friend and has never done a wrong deed in his life… well besides stealing… but he’s a good person who has changed so many lives and has saved more.”  Shiro said. Ozar gave the Air Nomad a look, one that wasn’t very pleasant.

“He will be tried for the murder of Chin, that is a crime no one takes lightly.”

“But Chin died well over a hundred years ago!”  Coran points out.

“But isn’t Sorri a past life?”

“Well…”  Shiro looks down.  “Yes technically-”

“So he is Sorri reborn, he can pay for his heinous crimes.  Even if he is not in the same body, it is the same spirit.” Ozar says.  Shiro had no clue how to fight that logic.

“That isn’t fair.”  Matt points out. “How do you think Keith feels about this?  I’m pretty sure he didn’t even know who Chin was.” He says. Ozar only rolls his eyes and stayed in his seat.

“Matt makes a good point.”  Coran says. “Keith doesn’t know who this Chin fellow is.  He’s never even heard of this village!”

“Your arguments mean nothing.  You speak, then I speak. But in the end I decide who’s right.”  Ozar said. “This is justice.”

“That is bias and wrong!”  Matt says. Shiro groans and walks out.

“Let’s go, we won’t get anywhere with this tosser.”  He hisses and walks out. Matt and Coran glare at him and walks with the airbender.  Ozar was clearly holding a long time grudge against Sorri and was taking it out on Keith.

* * *

Pidge was looking closely at the ground, looking for clues.  Lance walks next to Hunk and looked at all the trees, everything looks so familiar, like the area was similar to someone else.  Hunk walks up to Pidge and spoke to her.

“So you find anything yet?”

“No, not at all.”  Pidge says. “I have no clues on what we’re looking for.”  Lance kept looking around at the environment. “Hey Lance, you okay?”

“Hm?”  He looks at his tiny friend.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Something on your mind?”  Hunk asks.

“Well…”  He looks at the area.  “Hunk, doesn’t this place look familiar?”

“Now that you mention it, it kind of does.”  He says. Lance nods and looks around again. Meanwhile Pidge was still looking closely at the ground,  expecting to find something. She gasps and stops, Lance and Hunk look over in surprise.

“What?”  Hunk asks.  “You find something?”

“Yeah, footprints.”  She says. “Or a footprint.”  Lance looks at it with her.

“Holy crow!  It’s a bootprint, one from the south!”

“Do you think it’s Sorri’s?”  Pidge asks, Lance shook his head.

“That can’t be, Sorri died over a hundred years ago.”  Lance said. “The bootprint would’ve faded.” Hunk looks at the bootprint and walked forward to see where it lead.  Hunk pushes some plant life aside only to walk into a cliff. Hunk flails, Lance and Pidge grabbed one arm and pulled him back.

The two pulled back and then fell backwards, landing with a loud thud.  Pidge throws Hunk’s arm off her body while Lance wiggled his way out. They looked at the edge Hunk about fell off of.  They crawled over and saw the sea rushing through, creating a large river. They just stared at it.

“Well… that’s dangerous…”  Pidge says.

“Yeah, maybe we should go back to the village.”  Hunk spoke up. Lance looks up and sees an island in the distance.  He points at it.

“Guys look!  An island!”

“Where?”  Pidge looks up.

“An island way out there.”  It takes the other two a minute and squinted eyes to see the island.  They were shocked.

“That must be the landmass Sorri separated.”  Pidge says. Hunk looks at his tiny friend with shocked eyes.

“Are you telling me the Avatar has the power to move landmasses?!”

“Yeah, Sorri was able to tear a chunk of earth that was connected to Chin Village off and made it an island.”

“Oh spirits…”  Hunk looks in the islands direction in horror.  The Avatar is way too powerful. Lance stood up and looked with Hunk.

“I think we can find some truth about Sorri on that island.”  He says, Pidge looks at him.

“Yeah, good idea Lance.  However there is one problem.  How the hell are we going to get across?”  She asks, Lance thought about that.

“Good point.  Maybe I can make an icebridge…”

“It’s too far, you won’t be able to keep up.”  Hunk said. “I remember hearing that you got tired by trying to cut through metal.  You won’t make it over.

“Way to have faith in me.”  Lance sasses.

“I’m just looking out for your health.”  Hunk points out. Lance pouts, he tries to bend anyways, the water comes up but doesn’t stay.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyways…”  He huffs. Then he grew another smile, one that Hunk doesn’t trust.  “But I know how to get across! Follow me!”

“Okay!”  Pidge shouts happily.

“W-Wait for me!”

* * *

Keith sits in his cell and meditates, he was so quiet that the other prisoner’s breathing could be heard.  The prisoner to his side taps the wall next to him. He looks over at the prisoner.

“You’re really the Avatar?”  He asks with amazement.

“No, I lied because I enjoy prison cells.”  He says and went back to meditating. The prisoner next door kept talking.

“That boy that was in here earlier, you know him?”

“Yes, he’s my friend.”  Keith said. “All of my friends are out there, probably trying to think of ways to get me out of this mess.”

“Lucky.”  The prisoner chuckles.  “You close to your friends?”  He asks, Keith messes with his hair.

“Well yeah, they’re like my family.”

“What about your real family?”

“I’m an orphan.”  Keith tells them, the prisoner gave a pathetic look.  Looking like he was about to cry.

“You never had a family!”

“Somewhat… I had a father for a while.  But he got arrested… heh it runs in the family it seems.”  Keith jokes. “But anyways, this team is a good family. I have my brother, my uncle, my best friend, my little brother who is bigger, and the two nutcases that I have to consider family.”  He says.

“Is a best friend and nutcases considered family?”

“Well I don’t know what kind of family members they are.”  Keith admits. He sighs and looks up at the ceiling. “But I love them like family.”

“That’s a good thing.  As long as you love them then it doesn’t matter what they are to you.”  Keith looks at the wall. “They don’t need a label to be loved.” Very poetic coming from a prisoner.

“You’re right.”  He says. “Hey what are you in for anyways?”

“Murder.”

“Same.”  The two went silent and went back to doing whatever it was before their conversation.

* * *

“THIS IS A BAD IDEA!”  Hunk shrieks. Lance cackles and lands Black on the island.

“Relax Hunk, for a first time I did pretty good.”  He says as he hops down. “Also Shiro doesn’t have to know.”  Pidge right behind him. Hunk hops off, Yellow on his shoulder.  Lance grabs Black’s reigns and leads him along, the bison listening obediently.

They looked around the island, nothing unusual.  A few destroyed buildings and a clearing in the forest ahead.  Were people living here? They kept looking around to see if there people were there.

They passed one clearing, it was a shrine.  They passed it and kept walking through the thick forest.  They passed another clearing, Lance looks up and then gasps.

“What?”  Hunk asks.  Lance said nothing, he ran ahead.  Black on his tail. The other two look at each other and follow him through the forest.  Lance finally broke through the forest to the main clearing and gasps for breath.

Hunk and Pidge caught up, both way more out of breath than he was.  They both glared at him then looked up. Hunk’s eyes went wide while Pidge looked.

“Where are we?”  Before they could answer her a large figure walks in front of them, Pidge jumps and hops onto Lance.

“Waterbender, earthbender.  Nice to see you all again.” Kolivan says to them.  Lance looks at his friends.

“This is the Marmora Base…  The base was the land that was separated…”

“Marmora?”  Pidge asks. “What’s that?”

“We are Marmora.”  Kolivan said. “Who is the new one?  Also where is Shiro, and Keith? Also you had the old man, where is he?  And why do you have the bison?”

“Hold on, hold on!”  Lance says. “Too many questions at once.”  He tells Kolivan, the large man stops and looks at Pidge.  Hunk spoke up.

“This is Keith’s offensive earthbending teacher, her name is Pidge.”

“Nice to meet you.”  She held her hand out to shake.  Kolivan took it and nods.

“Firm handshake.  I already like you.”  He tells her. She smiles sweetly.  She jumps when she heard a squeal. Pidge turns to see a woman about tackle Lance down.  She looks at Hunk and grabs him in a hug, however he was a wall and didn’t move.

“What are you two doing here?!”

“Nice to see you too Swirn.”  Hunk said. Lance got up from the ground, cracking his back.

“Can’t you greet us in a less painful way?”

“I miss you guys.”

“Okay… you two have obviously been here before… care to fill me in?”  Pidge asks.

“This is the Marmora Base, people who were trained by Avatar Trigel.  They are here to aid the current Avatar.” Lance tells her, she looks at Kolivan with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re aiding Keith?”

“He is our master reborn, we will help him in any way we can so we can repay Trigel for all her kindness.  Though we could never repay her.” Kolivan bows before Pidge. “However we want to thank you for teaching him the art of earthbending.  It means a lot to us.”

“Aw… makin me feel special.”  She says in a cute voice. Lance and Hunk chuckle.

“You should see them around Keith.”  Lance says. “But off track here, Kolivan we want to ask you a question.”

“Yes?”

“Keith is in prison.”  That got a reaction out of Swirn, who gasps.  Kolivan’s face remained motionless. “He is going under trial for his past life, as Avatar Sorri… he killed Chin Villages leader.”  He says. “We need to help him, prove he’s innocent and clear his name.”

Kolivan stares at the concerned waterbender and thought.  He twirls his beard and nods.

“Come with me, I have some things that may help.”  They walks back into the woods and went all the way back to the first clearing.  They walked up to a shrine that had Trigel’s name on it. “This was where Trigel came to meditate, also a place she honored Sorri for creating this land.”  He says.

Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Swirn looked around the shrine.  It had a lot of Trigel’s weapons and items.

“Trigel held Sorri in high regards.  The village was where she met her husband, even had her child here.  She honored Sorri and asked the Northern Tribe, more specifically her teacher Alfor, if she could hold on to something of Sorri’s, just to have something in here to honor him.”

Kolivan took down a headpiece and hands it to Lance.  The waterbender gave it an odd look and puts it on. It was heavy and made him slouch.  Pidge and Hunk both chuckle at his current position. Swirn crawls over and looks at it.

“So this belongs to Sorri?”  She asks, Kolivan nods.

“It was the only thing she was allowed to keep, the rest of his items are back North.  However the South is allowed to take it since Sorri’s from there, if it ever comes back to it’s once former glory that is.”  He says while looking at Lance. He heard that and looks down, not liking the reminder of his tribe’s current state.

“What are you guys going to do about the trial?”  Swirn asks.

“We don’t know.”  Hunk says. “Shiro said he’d talk to the mayor.  But that doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“It isn’t, that guy is nuts.”  Pidge says. They look at Lance, who had taken the headdress off and was looking at it.  Playing with the fur between his fingers. He stood up and took the headdress with him. He hops on Black and looks at his friends.  Kolivan freaks out.

“What do you think you’re doing Lance?!”

“I’ll bring it back.  Promise.” He says. “Come on Pidge, Hunk.”

“Okay!”  Pidge hops up.  Hunk looks at the two then back at his friends.

“Lance, don’t take things that don’t belong to you.”

“I have a feeling we’ll need this, that’s all.”  He says. He gets Black to fly with a yip yip and flies back to Chin Village.

* * *

They come back and were greeted by a very pissed off Shiro.  He smacks the driver’s head, Lance. And scolds the other two.

“You cannot take Black without my permission!  I was scared beyond belief! And you two!” Pointing at them.  “You were supposed to stay out of trouble, and you were supposed to watch them!”  He snaps. Hunk looks down in sadness, Pidge sighs and looks away.

“Are we too late?”  Lance asks.

“Kind of, they said Keith was guilty cause this place has an unfair system.  They haven’t decided on the punishment, but Keith is strapped to a wheel.” Shiro says, Lance looks over and sees a rather bored Keith tied to a wheel with pictures on it.  He should be more concerned. Lance takes the headdress and runs towards him. The guards were about to push him back but Lance ignores them and spoke to Keith.

“Hey Lance.”

“Uh… are you okay?”

“No, I’m uncomfortable.”  He says, then looks at the headdress.  “Where did you get that?”

“Marmora… that was the landmass that Sorri separated from the village.”

“No kidding.”  Keith was surprised.  Lance held up the headdress.

“Um, I brought this.”  He said. Keith looks at it with big eyes, he recognized but he has never seen it before.

“It’s… a headdress.”

“It was Sorri’s.”  Lance said. He was glad that Keith was upright on the wheel, he puts the headdress on Keith’s head.  Despite it being heavy Keith could hold his head up with little effort, Lance was actually jealous of that.

Keith just stood there with the headdress placed on his head, then he closed his eyes, feeling something pulling him in.

* * *

Keith’s eyes open and he looks around, he was in the Spirit World.  He sees a snowy mountain, though it was a blizzard it wasn’t cold. Keith brushes his bangs away from his eyes and looking forward, the snow moves upwards and creating a human figure.  It stops and a man in a big winter coat with what looked like dead animal fur lined it. His hood had an antler design, but it didn’t distract from his stern face.

Keith just stares at the man, no real emotion running through him.  The man nods and spoke up.

“It is nice to finally meet you, Keith.”

“Same here, Sorri.”  He says. Keith looks down at the snow below him.  “Sorri, why did you attack this village? Did you even attack here?”  He asks. Sorri nods.

“I will not deny my past doings.  However I do not regret it.”

“So you killed Chin… why?  Why did you do it?”

“I will tell you, however I will tell the other villagers as well.”  He says, Keith gave a confused look.

“How are you going to do that?”  He asks, Sorri says nothing, he just looks at Keith.

* * *

Keith’s eyes shot open, entering the Avatar State while being stuck to a wheel.  Then his form changed, everyone blinks and backs away. Seeing Sorri taking Keith’s place at the wheel.  His eyes were still glowing, looking aggressive.

“Listen to me, people of Chin Village!  I will tell you the truth of what happened back then.  When I was alive I had gotten a message from my earthbending instructor and good friend Soni.  She told me that a ruthless man named Chin the Conqueror was trying to take over her village.” He tells the entire village.  “So I fought for my friends however there were many soldiers.”

“So I did the only thing I could think of, which was separating the village far from Chin’s army, so he could not invade.  I used airbending to move the land away… however he was stubborn. In anger he screamed and did not notice the earth falling below his feet… he fell to his death Keith.  I had nothing to do with that.”

He disappears, Keith coming back into view.  He opens his eyes, back to their usual purple color.  He stares at the ground in silence.

“It was an accident…”  Keith said quietly. Mayor Ozar seemed angered by that and grabs the wheel.

“You’re magic means nothing, and you speak nothing but lies!”  He snaps. “I will now spin the wheel and it will decide your punishment!”  He turns the wheel. Lance caught the headdress before it hit the ground. Keith makes an uncomfortable noise as he spins around.  Lance runs back to Shiro and held the headdress close.

“Didn’t know that would happen.”

“Glad it did, now we know the truth… however it didn’t do much.”  Shiro says as he watches Keith spins. Finally it slows down and lands on one picture on the wheel, near Keith’s ankle.  Poor Avatar was dizzy and hanging upside down. Ozar reads the punishment outloud.

“Boiled in oil!”  He calls, the village cheers.  They brought the oil out, Pidge had to make a comment.

“THEY HAD THAT READY?!  ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!” The lady like girl asks.  Lance held the headdress close.

“Shiro, what do we do?!”  He asks in panic. Shiro looks at Lance.

“O-Okay, stay calm.  You can bend oil, right?”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

“You try to bend it away and I’ll get Keith from the whe-”  Before Shiro could finish they heard a scream. The team looks over and sees rhinos come out of nowhere and park themselves in the village before the team, the Rough Rhinos, an elite team of soldiers from the Fire Nation.  Low and behold Lotor and his generals were amongst them.

Shiro had to admit, that was some damn good timing, Lance however didn’t think so.

“Oh come on.  Now we have to deal with this.”  He grumbles. One of the members of the Rough Rhinos uses a flaming arrow to snipe at the oil.  Shiro immediately airbends the arrow away and looks back at the group.

“Well don’t just stand there you guys!”  He says, the team nods and joins in on the fight.  The Mayor panics, he spins the wheel, causing an already dizzy Keith to jerk in another direction and changed his punishment.

“Okay, it’s community service!  Help us!” Ozar runs away in fear with the other villagers.  Keith falls out of the straps and onto the floor. He slowly got up and wobbled a bit, feeling like he was gonna throw up.

Meanwhile the team was trying their best to keep all the fighters at bay.  Shiro took on all the Rough Rhinos, Matt mounted Green and used her to get close and knock off some of the riders.  Pidge felt someone tap her back, she turns and sees Narti. The blind girl waves, then proceeds to roundhouse kick Pidge in the face.

The small girl stumbles back in pain and shock, this tiny girl can hit hard, and she was Pidge’s height.  Perfect opponent. She tries to attack her head on, but Narti is quick to dodge. Pidge gets real annoyed real fast.

Hunk looks around, then notices Zethrid jumping at him, he screams in fear and made a column, knocking into the bigger woman.  Acxa runs up and attacks Coran, the old man takes her on. Using his snakes to tie around her, she tries to use the snakes to her advantage and pulls Coran closer to knock him off his feet, it works.

Lance tries to help Shiro but saw Ezor, her eyes locked onto him.  Lance first reaction is to run far far from her. Predictable as ever she chases him.

“Come back my tribesman!”

“Leave me alone!”  He whines as he ran from her, though she was doing an excellent job keeping up.

Keith walks over in a dizzy state and sees three Lotor’s just watching.  He held his arm out and airbends at one of them. He hits a rider instead, Shiro looks over and calls.

“Thanks.”  He resumed fighting.  Keith growls and held his head, he was really going to be sick.  Lotor runs up to him and knocks him in his back. Keith wobbles a bit and looks up at the three Lotor’s, glaring at each of them.  He firebends at all three, he hits Coran’s snakes, Hunk’s wall, and above Matt’s head. The last one was not too thrilled about that.

Meanwhile Shiro was still trying to fight all the riders, while Matt was doing a fine job at knocking them off, making it easier to airblast them away.  Shiro took a stance with his staff, then Narti comes in and uses it to hop around, Pidge chasing her.

“S-She’s fast.”

“Yeah, and she’s blind.”  Shiro says. “How does that make you feel?”

“I’m getting my ass kicked by a blind girl?!”  She snaps. Shiro laughs and airbends at the riders who fell off, Pidge noticed Narti was standing fine as the wind blew at her.  “Oh are you kidding me?”

“Hey I’m just glad she isn’t fighting me.”  Shiro said. “She always goes after me.” Pidge pouts and chased after Narti, who was treating this as a game.  Pidge tries to high kick her, Narti grabs her foot. She pulls back, causing Pidge to come closer and firebends at her stomach.  Pidge fell back and held her stomach in pain, it didn’t burn her clothes surprisingly but it still hurt.

She got up and started to earthbend around Narti, the little bender hops off all the rocks and kicks her in the face.  Pidge held her face and glares at Narti. Tired and annoyed she earthbends again and this time was making armor, but not for her.  She stomps on the ground hard and caused a crater around her and Narti, the blind girl wobbles a bit, Pidge took that chance and earthbends a few rocks at her feet, quickly trapping her in armor.

Narti gasps silently till only her eyes and nose showed through, she just stood there in defeat.  Lance ran by the trapped girl, still trying to get away from Ezor.

He sends a waterwhip at her, trying to trip her.  It works, being too distracted by the chase. She got upset, but Ezor is anything if not persistent.  She firebends at him, Lance remembers how much hers burns and puts it out before bolting off. He doesn’t want to be near her.

Acxa finally got Coran closer, the old man got to his feet and tried pulling back.  With a hard yank he got Acxa off her feet and on the ground. Coran quickly ties her up and left her in the metal snakes.

Hunk kept defending against Zethrid’s hard attacks, she can break his walls by just punching them.  Hunk can conclude that this woman was the one who killed Keith, she seems strong enough to break bones.

He needed to get her away from him, he takes a deep breath and goes against all his morals.  Hunk sends a column up from under Zethrid and sends her flying. While she falls Hunk creates a giant boulder and sends it right at her.  It nails her and Hunk watches her crash into the ground.

“Sorry!”  He calls.

Keith launches another attack at Lotor.  He moves his head slightly right and dodges his firebending.  Keith was still slightly dizzy and sick. He kicks up a rock and launches it, not even close to Lotor.  It hit Ezor, at least she was out now. Lotor looks back at every one of his generals had already lost. The riders were still going at it.

He had to stop them somehow… Lotor can’t look suspicious though.  He thought of a plan while Keith was trying to get his head straight.  Lotor snaps his fingers, he has a perfect idea.

He ran off, Keith followed him.  He airbends at Lotor, the prince dodges.  However it hits a few of the riders. Keith growls and firebends at him, Lotor kept dodging, but all of Keith’s attacks were hitting the riders instead.

Shiro stops and watches the two fight.  He noticed what Lotor was doing, actually proving that what he said before was the truth.  He was pretending to fight Keith, but since he was standing near the riders Keith would hit them if Lotor dodged.  Lotor lightningbends, purposely missing and dodged a few more of his attacks.

Matt rides up next to Shiro, Pidge at his back, and questioned the fight.

“That guy doesn’t have good aim.”

“I guess so.”  Shiro lies. He knew Lotor was very skilled, but he’d rather keep this plan a secret between him and Lotor… also Narti and Lance are in on it.  One being way more suspicious than the other though.

Keith got sick of aiming for Lotor and just earthbends in his general area, causing a massive crater.  Lotor got hurt but so did the remaining riders. Lotor got on one and calls for a retreat. The very few who were still standing grabbed their fallen comrades, and the generals, and rode off.

Everyone stood in silence as the Fire Nation fled.  Keith threw up after that, everyone near him backed away in disgust.

When Shiro walked up to check on him the whole village began to cheer.  The team turns and sees Ozar running up to Keith, who was wiping vomit from the corners of his mouth.  Ozar grabs the Avatar’s hands, everyone cringed at that, he just wiped his mouth with his hand… 

“You saved our village!”  He says in joy. “Three cheers for the Avatar!”  Everyone did a “hip hip, hooray!” for Keith, who looked like he got wasted and needed sleep.  Pidge walks up and smirks at the mayor.

“So, did we prove the Avatar’s innocence?”  She asks all smug like, Ozar gave her a dirty look and sighs.

“Yes, he is not a criminal like we first thought.”  Ozar admits, then a smile grew. “In fact, I have a new law!”  He looks at his people. “From this day forth, Avatar Day is a day to celebrate and praise the great Avatar!”  The whole village cheers, he looks back at the team. “How does that sound, Avata-?” 

He stops and notices Keith fell asleep on Shiro’s shoulder.  The airbender looks down and pats Keith’s head. He looks at Ozar and nods.

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.”  He says. Lance and Pidge look at eachother and nod.

“You and I are a pretty good team.”  She says. Lance high fives her, she looks at Hunk.  “In fact, we three make an amazing team.”

“Do not drag me into this horrible group.”  Hunk pleas. Coran looks at them and points.

“You two will never be left alone again or so help me.”  He threatens. Pidge and Lance gave an innocent smile. That meant no promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got done, such a long chapter... also Lance and Pidge are best team XD


	9. The Surprising Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long, I went back to work and I've been busy, plus writers block. I'm glad I finally got it done. Also hype for season six! Can't wait to see everything go to shit!

The team was hanging around a nice forest area to rest for a bit and practice bending.  Coran was watching everyone practice while working on his flying machine. He needs to make it easier to fly.  After every flight he and Matt are extremely exhausted, so fixing the machine to make sure he can fly farther without using airbending.

Meanwhile the others were practicing, and or goofing off cause they got nothing to do.

“Okay so next thing we will learn.  How good are you at remembering the human figure?”  Pidge asks Keith, he gave her a look.

“I have a good memory.”  He says, Hunk looks at Pidge.

“Keith’s an artist.”  He says. Pidge looks at Keith with a judging look.

“Alright… so you should be decent at this.”  She says. Pidge kicks her leg up, with a solid blow she sends a few rocks up.  Keith’s eyes grew at what he was seeing, the rocks looked sort of like people. “This is called earth mannequin.  You can make any part of the body with earth. Making full body people seems useless, but fun. You try, just picture a person in your head.”  She says to Keith.

The Avatar kicks his leg up.  With a violent kick to the ground he sends a mannequin up.  The two earthbenders look at it, both shocked that he got it so fast and who it looked like.

“Ta da~”  He sings and points at it.  “I made Shiro.” He says happily, Shiro stops airbending and looks at the mannequin.

“Nice.”  He smiles and nods, loving how he looks.  Then Lance cuts the head off, the mannequin disintegrates.  Shiro looks at Lance with a non approving look. He threw his arms in the air and cheers.

“I win!”  Shiro knocks him over with airbending.  Lance chuckles as he fell in the water. Keith looks at Pidge.

“Any others?”  He asks, Pidge nods.  She earthbends near Green, this must of happened a lot because the shirshu wasn’t reacting at all.  Under the beast a hand made of earth picks it up. Keith’s eyes twinkle while Hunk looked disturbed.

“Well that’s one way to pick up your beloved pet.”  He says. “I’ll stick to holding them in my own hands.”

“Yeah I can totally hold Green, let her curl in my arms.”  Pidge sassed. Hunk picks Yellow up from his shoulder and lets the cat curl up in his arms.

“That’s why I love that my best friend is an adorable little kitten.”  He nuzzles the purring cat. “I can hold him and cuddle him. Smaller pets mean easier to love them.”

“Hey that’s not true!”  Shiro calls. “Bigger pets mean more to love!  Right Black?” He looks at his best friend. The bison makes a low noise, Shiro took that as him agreeing.  He smiles victoriously.

“And I cuddle to Green!”  Pidge argues. “She’s still cute, look at her!”  Green’s head turns in the direction of her owner.  “Yeah, you’re adorable, aren’t you~”

“Yeah sure, guess everyone has different taste in pets.”  Hunk said. “What about you Keith, what kind of pet do you prefer?”  He asks, the Avatar thinks on that.

“A big pet!  One that’s super cute that you can snuggle to but also you can cuddle!  Also deadly killer!” He says with sparkles in his eyes.

“What kind of pet is that?”  Hunk asks in concern.

“An amazing one!”  He says, Shiro chuckles and pats his friends shoulder.

“Sounds perfect for you.”  He says. “Hey Lance, got a prefered pet?”

“Oh, I dunno.”  Lance shrugs. “Never thought about a pet.  I mean my brother had a pet dog… polar dog…”  He says as he got out of the water and grabs his outer clothes.  “But besides Vinrock I’ve never thought about owning a pet.” He says.

“Really?”  Pidge asks while walking up to him.  “That’s odd, when I was little I loved animals, I’ve always wanted one.  That’s why when I found Green I trapped her and tamed her.” She says, pointing at her shirshu that is now laying on the ground.  “I found her when she was a baby, we’ve practically grown up together.”

“Same with Black and I.”  Shiro says petting the bison.  “Not every kid gets a bison, but Black and I had a connection and he was given to me so I could go travel on my own.”

“I met Yellow on the side of a road, took care of him since.”  Hunk says, Pidge points at the cat on his shoulder.

“Did you train him to do that?”

“Hang around on my shoulder?  No.” Hunk says. “He started doing this on his own.”  The cat rubs his face against Hunks.

“This is cute and all-”  Matt cuts in. “But maybe we should focus on our next stop and next course of action.”

“Matt’s right.”  Shiro said. “Keith is done with basics, won’t be long before he’s mastered it.  We need to start focusing on the final fight against Zarkon.” He says, Keith and Pidge were the only two not listening and goofing off with earthbending.  “Keith, Pidge.” Shiro’s stern voice makes them jump.

“Are you two listening?”  He asks, the two look to the side, obviously guilty.  The group went back to talking.

“Do you have an idea of when we should strike?”  Coran asks. Shiro nods and looks down.

“I remember when Lance and I went into the library.  We found a time when firebenders will be helpless.”

“Are you saying-”  Keith looks up. “We attack during the eclipse?”  He asks. Another nod.

“That’s the only time Zarkon and his men will be defenseless, we will take that advantage and attack then.”  He says. Keith looks down in concern, he is still not ready to go and face Zarkon. He’d rather run around and travel like this.  But he knew that no matter what he has to face Zarkon and save the world.

Lance pats his shoulder to calm him down, everyone could feel the concern coming off his body.  Coran decides to change the subject.

“What about Lotor?  Once we step foot on Fire Nation ground he’ll probably send the entire army in our direction and have us killed.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Lotor.”  Shiro says, which received a glare from Lance.  “Trust me, we’ll make over with no trouble.”

“Doubt it.”  Lance mumbles, Keith looks at him and grabs his hand that was still on his shoulder.  Giving a slightly concerned look. Keith has noticed that lately Lance and Shiro seem to be on rocky ground.  But he has no clue why and how that even started.

The team all made a decision, that was stay in the Earth Kingdom till Keith mastered earth then go straight to the Fire Nation and prepare for battle.  The eclipse was approaching soon, so Keith has little time to master earth. Talk about pressure, but Keith can do it… he hopes.

* * *

Lotor and his team made it back to their base, his generals all groan and stretch when they got back.

“Well that was a total failure.”  Ezor said as she cracked her back.

“Agree.”  Lotor said.  “Which mean we should be on our toes next time we see them.  Remember our goal is to catch the Avatar, nothing should come in between that.”

“Yes sir.”  All his generals said.  He smiles at his loyal team.  A guard walks up on their happy moment.

“Prince Lotor.”  He looks over. “The Fair Lady would like to speak with you, alone.”

“Alright.”  Lotor follows the soldier to his mother’s tent.  He slowly walks in and sees his mother sitting calmly in the center, waiting patiently for Lotor.  As soon as he entered her eyes snapped open. She gestures in front of her, telling him to sit. It was quiet between them, Honerva finally spoke up.

“Mission was a failure?”

“Yes, I am sorry mother.”  He says in a sad voice. “He has more friends now, we were caught off guard.”

“I send with you the best our military has to offer… and you somehow lost to a group of nobodies?”

“Forgive me, I did not know.”

“Excuses.”  Honerva said, her look grew softer.  “Listen Lotor, I want nothing more than to help you.  But I cannot when you keep losing.” She said. Lotor looks down, playing the pathetic fool well.

“If I may-”  He starts. “Maybe we could wait and come up with a plan that will surely work.  We just need time-”

“No.”  Honerva starts.  “We must be quick.  Your father is growing impatient, he wants the Avatar now.”

“But maybe we should be patient.  We’ve gone on this long without the Avatar, we do not need him to win an already won war.”

“Lotor.”  Honerva snaps.  “We cannot afford to lose our care with this.  We have not yet claimed the entirety of the Earth Kingdom.  There is a chance that the Avatar can still stop us from taking over.  If he does then that will leave us at a disadvantage, and maybe start a rebellion against us.”  She says. “The other nations will stand against us and all our work would be for not.”

Lotor looks at his knees, thinking of what to say that will not upset his mother any more.  He stood up and was ready to leave.

“Don’t worry mother, we will not lose.  I promise you, the Avatar will be stopped.  We just need time to think of a plan.”

“No need.”  Honerva said.  “I already have a plan in mind.  If you care to sit down and look it over that is.”  Lotor felt his face drop, his mother has yet another plan?  This cannot be good, he slowly sat back down and listened to her plan.

* * *

“This is bad, this is really bad.”  Lotor was pacing back and forth on the outskirts of the base with Narti.  Who was sitting and listening to Lotor. “Narti this is horrible! If we go along with the plan then the Avatar and his friends are doomed, if we don’t help then she’ll know we’re helping them!”

He sat in front of her and groans in his hands.  “We are officially done for.” The air between them was quiet.  Narti waits for Lotor to calm himself down. “How will we help now…?  We can’t do anything like this…” Then his face lit up, a lightbulb went off in his head.

“Unless they  _ knew _ about the attack!”  He says, causing Narti to jump.  Lotor ran into base and wrote a letter to the team, telling them about the next attack.  He rolls up the scroll and runs out to Narti and hands her the letter. “Narti, I need you to go out and find the Avatar or his friends.  Give them this and make sure they read it.”

Narti gave Lotor a look, this was a horrible idea.  Mainly because Narti was blind and a mute and was going out on her own to find a group of people that could be miles away.  “You can do it, I believe in you!” The little woman sighs and takes the scroll from Lotor and nods.

He gave her a few things to help her on her journey and waves her off, she has to go on foot because no way can she ride a rhino.  A dragon? Yes. Any other form of transportation? No.

But she’ll get the message to them, she’ll try.

* * *

She tried… she really tried.  But Narti is kind of lost and stuck wandering around like an idiot.  She has no other way of seeing besides hearing, so she’s stuck grabbing onto rocks and trees to aid her in her search.  At times Narti wishes she was an earthbender, then she’d have an easier time “seeing”. She sighs, knowing that wishing isn’t going to accomplish her mission faster.

She is a nomad of the Fire Nation, born to be strong and fearless.  No obstacles in there way, capable of anything they put their mind to.  And right now her mind is on finding someone from the group.

As Narti walks she felt the presence of someone else watching her.  She walks past the presence and felt something furry brush against her legs, it was something laying down… meaning what she touched was big.  And growling at her.

She reached down, feeling the body of the creature.  It knew she was blind and didn’t immediately attack, but her clothes made it uneasy.  Even animals hate the Fire Nation. The back of the creature was hard, like a rock, but the rest was furry.  And the growling helps her identify it as a large cat.

She walks away from the cat, since large cats are vicious… and this one seems especially ferocious.  But something caught Narti off guard, the cat stopped growling when she walked. She looks in the direction she heard the cat, he was still there, she can tell.  So why did the cat stop growling? Maybe cause she walked away?

She walks back, the cat growls again.  Narti nods, her suspicions were right. She walks again, in a different direction.  The cat’s growling grew louder, she stops again. What was up with this animal? Narti can usually connect with animals, they were easier to read and understand than people.  Yet this one… she can’t tell what was up with it.

Narti kept walking, the cat behind her.  Everytime she stops it growls, she walks again, it follows again.  She decided to ignore the cat, it was going to keep following her. Then it stops, she stops and faces the cat’s direction.  The cat was just sitting there, still watching her. It’s like it’s trying to protect something from her.

Narti walks around until she heard the cat get up again, she decided to go where the cat doesn’t want her to go.  Might mean that something or someone will be there and hopefully help her. Just be wary of the giant cat that is following close behind her.

* * *

“ _ La la ladedadeda~ _ ”  Lance sings and walks down a forest path, he was walking around the perimeter of the camp making sure it’s safe.  He turns a left and kept singing along to a made up song and walking around. He decided to walk around because he has nothing to do, he needs to find something to do while everyone practices.  He could practice waterbending more… but he can’t think of what to practice.

He already knows so much, practicing seems a little pointless.  He would hang out with someone on his team but they’re all busy.  He has started to hang out with Hunk and Pidge but currently they’re teaching, Keith is busy as well with learning earthbending.  Shiro is mastering airbending and as of late he’s not hanging out with him. Coran is always working on that machine and Matt is with him working on it.  So Lance is just hanging out alone and doing absolutely nothing… he needs a hobby.

Rustling could be heard from a few bushes.  Lance stops his singing and looks at the plant life that was moving.  He heard rustling, then loud thumping against the ground. Then out of the bush Narti jumps out, looking frightened.  She ran past Lance, not noticing him at all. He sees something run to Narti’s side and the poor girl runs the other way, something was toying with her.

Lance really didn’t want to help her, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel bad.  She can’t see what’s going on and is probably too scared to properly hear. Lance grabs Narti with one arm to stop her mindless running.

“Stop, stop stop stop…”  He says. Narti stops and feels Lance, not knowing who it is, but it’s a person.  She points all around in a panic, trying to tell Lance what is chasing her. She starts tapping his arm and pointing again.  Lance had no clue what she’s trying to say.

“Wait wait, what is going on?”  He asks, Narti noticed who it was and backed away.  She looks at Lance and held her hand out as to say wait.  Lance gave her a look, still watching the plants around them move.  The thing that followed her is still there, watching her closely.

Narti got the scroll out and hands it to him with a smile, Lance just stares at it.  He gave Narti a look, the blind girl was wondering why Lance wasn’t taking it. Her smile falters and lowers her hand, he wasn’t taking it.

“What are you doing here?  And if you’re here then where is Lotor?”  He asks, Narti shook her head. She was trying to tell him that Lotor wasn’t around, he wasn’t getting the message.  She kept trying to tell him that he isn’t around and he should believe in her. He sighs and started walking away, Narti heard him moving and panicked.  She grabs him and stops him from moving.

Lance growls at her clingy behavior, he tries pulling her off but she refused to let go.  She held the letter up, desperately trying to give it to him. He finally pulls his arm away and glares at her.  She couldn’t see but she could tell by his movement and aura that he isn’t happy. He tried walking back to camp.

“Lance?”  Someone calls his name.  He looks up and sees Shiro walking up.  “You’ve been gone for a while, we got worried about you.  You okay?” Narti hears Shiro and runs up to him. Bumping into him, keeping her face buried in his chest she held the scroll up.  Shiro looks down in surprise.

“Narti?”  He asks, she continued to hold the scroll up.  “What are you doing out here? And all alone?” He looks around.  “Where’s Lotor?”

“I swear if you lead him here-”  Lance threatens, Narti shook her head at them and started tapping Shiro’s arm.  He nods along as she taps his arm, mouthing out words. Like she’s talking.

Shiro nods and took the scroll.

“Heh, that does sound scary.”  He says. “Pray tell where is the scary creature now?”  She pouts, Shiro wasn’t taking her seriously. “Okay okay, don’t give me that face.  So tell me, why did Lotor feel the need to send a blind girl out in the middle of nowhere to find us?”

She held the scroll up again, Shiro takes it and opens it.  Lance goes to the other side and reads over his shoulder. After a bit Shiro’s eyes grew in horror.

“Oh no…”

“What, what is it?”  Lance asks. Shiro looks over.

“This isn’t good.”  He looks at Lance. “They plan on using airships to catch us.  We-we’re grounded.” He says, Lance goes pale. That was their usual get away and now they can’t use it?  He read on. “Oh spirits. They’re sending a whole army at us on foot. They’re going all out.”

He closes the scroll and looks at Lance.  “We need to bring this back to the rest of the team.”  He grabs Narti’s arm and leads her back. Lance gawks at him.

“Wait, why is she coming with us?”

“Well she was getting chased, we’ll take her for now.”  He says. “Don’t worry, we’ll give her back to Lotor later.”  Shiro leads Narti with him, Lance grumbles and follows the two.

* * *

Keith re read the scroll over and over, his eyes grew feral.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!”  He snaps and burns the scroll. Everyone stood back, away from the upset Avatar.  His eyes went back to Narti, glaring holes at her. “You! Tell me why you are so inclined to share this with us.”  Narti stayed silent, holding Shiro’s arm tightly.

Lance stood behind with Pidge and Hunk, all three glaring at her.  Pidge leans against her friend and whispers.

“What is she doing here?”

“She delivered the message.”  Lance hissed. His words dripping with venom.  “Shiro has complete trust in her. So if he trusts her then he thinks we all should.”

“Well I don’t.”  Pidge says in a cold tone.  Hunk nods.

“I’m sorry but she has a dragon, I don’t trust the tiny girl who can control something that can eat Black.”

“I know.  But she’s with us for the time being.”  Lance says. “If Shiro wants to trust her then he can deal with her when she turns against us.”  The three stayed in their small group away from the rest of them. Matt and Coran looked at one another, the old man said nothing.  Matt walks up to Narti.

“So… Narti… that’s your name?”  She kept looking straight, but she nods.  “When do they plan on going after us?” He asks.  She mouths out when, Matt watches and nods. “Dang, so flying isn’t an option.”

“If they’re already in the sky then we can’t do anything about it.”  Shiro says. “The best we can do is lay low.”

“Yeah, that’s easier said than done.”  Keith snaps. “Shiro we’ve stated this before, we stand out!  They’ll find us in no time!”

“Which is why Narti gave us the message.”  Shiro points out. “Someone on their side is helping us Keith.  They told us about the plan for a reason.” He looks at everyone.  “When they come we won’t back down. We know that they’re coming from the ground, and we know they’re in the air.  We have this info, and we won’t be caught by surprise.”

The team all looks around and nods, they had the upper hand here.  They’ll fight them and stop their plan. Boy the Fire Nation was in for a shock.


	10. Attack! Ground and Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter three times... THREE! Okay on to more important matters, I haven't seen season six at all yet. For those of you who don't know, I watch Voltron with my Dad and two sisters. My Dad hates binge watching and we haven't had time to sit together and watch it. So yeah, no spoilers. However due to fans going nuts I know Romelle is in it. Now I have this story planned out but if you are all interested I have an idea that could include her in this, if you all want Romelle to join. Let me know, with that enjoy the chapter.

The plan Honerva made was quite simple, if not effective.  The Avatar and his friends travel by air, so convince her husband to send in soldiers on their flying ships to patrol the skies of the Earth Kingdom.  Also send soldiers around on foot to catch them. They also had a navy around to take care of pirates that threaten the Fire Nation, if they spotted the Avatar and his friends then they’d warn the rest of the army.  All in all a perfect plan.

However the team knows about the plan, and as a result they were hiding in a cave.  They don’t have the best luck when it comes to caves but they can’t fly and they have a high chance of getting found if they walked.   So stay in the stupid cave for the time being.

“So what do we do about the army coming our way?”  Pidge asks while leaning on Green’s head. Shiro shrugs, he had no clue.

“I say fight them.”  Keith says.

“Keith, you can’t solve every problem with violence.”  Shiro points out, Lance steps up.

“I’m with the Avatar on this one.”  He says. “We need to fight them, I say get a small group up and take out the fliers while the rest fight on the ground.”  He suggests, Shiro nods.

“Actually… that’s a good plan.”  He says. Matt looks over with a raised eyebrow.

“Great idea… how do we do that exactly?”

“Well we have Black.”  Shiro looks at his large friend, Black makes a low noise, as to say he’s down with the idea.  Keith looks down and thought about where everyone should go.

“You need to be in the air obviously.”  He says to Shiro. “But who goes with you?”

“Well I’d feel better if you were on the ground with everyone.”  Shiro says. “Since we have a higher chance of being caught while in the air.  I don’t know-”

“I’ll go with you.”  Lance says. Narti grabs Shiro’s arm as to say she’s going with him as well.  The rest of the team didn’t know how to feel about the odd team there. Mainly because Lance and Shiro are the reason that the group was so awkward.  The tension between them was practically visible. But no one was going to argue this match up at the moment.

They all agreed to it and got ready to go out and fight, hopefully everything will be fine… hopefully.

* * *

Lotor brushes his hair out of his face and looks out of his tent, wondering what is taking Narti so long.  He prays to the spirits that she’s okay. Meanwhile his other generals didn’t seem to notice that Narti was gone, well they knew she was out, but it’s not the first time she had left to do something.  She’s from a family of tamers, so some days she had to go home to help with the dragons or to help with his father, since Zarkon trusts the tamers.

However Narti wasn’t with her family, she is on her own in a big world that she cannot see.  He wonders if sending her out was the best idea, she even said it wasn’t a good idea. But Lotor sent her out, putting all her trust in her.

“Milord?”  Ezor looks at him with concern.  “You okay? You seem so lost in thought.”

“I am fine Ezor.  Just a little worried…”

“About the plan?  Don’t worry, your mother is a genius.”  She praises Honerva. “I think you should have more faith in her, I mean she is your mother.”

“I have faith in her plan.”  He won’t admit that that is what scares him.  Honerva is good at making plans, is good at seeing them through.  Maybe it’s because where she’s from or her personality but Lotor won’t deny his mothers skills at being a persuader.  She has visions and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t get her way.

He sees soldiers being sent out, he got up with his generals and nods.

“You girls ready to catch an Avatar?”  He asks, they nod.

“You betcha!”

“Hell yeah!”

“If you are ready milord, I will follow.”  They walk, or in Zethrid and Ezor’s case ran, to the rhinos and rode into the distance, planning on catching the Avatar.

* * *

Shiro hands the last thing they need to Narti and looks back at the group, Lance was hugging Pidge and Hunk, who were crying.

“Don’t die up there!”  Hunk shouts, Pidge nodding.

“Guys come on, I’ll be fine.  I’m a master, remember?” He asks, they continued to cry.  “As long as I have water, and my brothers boomerang, I’ll be fine.”  He tried to calm them down the best he could. Shiro walks to Keith and pats his head.

“We’ll be back as soon as we take down the air fighters.  Until then, you are in charge.” Shiro tells Keith, the smaller boys eyes widen.  He had to take charge? He didn’t think he could do that. But Shiro trusts him, and he’ll be back.

He gave him a soft nod, then hugs him softly.  Shiro hugs him back and pats his head.

“Promise me you four will be safe.”

“We will be.”  Shiro nods. He lets go of Keith and walks over to Coran and Matt.  “I’m leaving the flying machine with you guys. When all of this is over return to the Marmora Base.  We’ll meet up there.”

“Roger that.”  Matt says. Coran looks at Shiro.

“Wait are we fighting the soldiers on the ground still or-”

“Yes, if you happen to run into them then give them hell.”  Shiro says. Coran nods and looks at Hunk and Pidge.

“Alright boys and girl, let’s go.”  He walks over to the two and pulls them away.  “Oh quit your blubbering, he’ll be back soon.” Coran looks at Lance with a soft smile.  “You be careful out there.”

“I will be.”  Lance nods happily.  He climbs on after Shiro and waves his friends goodbye for the time being.  Shiro gave them a salute and the three flew off on Black. Coran and Matt put the flying machine on a rope and let Green drag the thing.  She hissed at them but she was strong enough to drag it. Plus in Coran’s junk pile were wheels and he added that to the machine, so it rolled around fine.

Pidge and Hunk watched as the bison disappeared, Keith sighs as soon as they were out of sight and walked off.

“Come on, let’s make some ground.”  He says, the group nods and follows the Avatar.

* * *

The sky was quiet and empty.  Lance felt so uncomfortable since there was no one to talk to.  Usually he’d talk to Keith or Hunk, sometimes Shiro… but now it’s odd.  Narti is mute so she can’t speak, not like Lance wants to talk to her anyways, and Shiro seems to only care about finding the air fighters or if he did talk it was to Narti.

He rolls on his side and tries to rest his eyes, at least distract himself from the lonely feeling buried deep in his heart… sounds cheesy but it’s the truth.  Meanwhile Narti was holding her arms out and feeling the wind around her, her cloak flowing in the wind. Oh yeah, Shiro gave her a cloak to hide her identity, in case they got caught.  She lifts her head high, wind gently blowing through her, Shiro looks over and chuckles.

“What are you doing?”  He asks, she looks over at him and smiles.  “If you fall off it’s not my fault.” He tells her, she stuck her tongue out and kept feeling the breeze.  Shiro lightly airbends at her, just to see her flail. Her arms windmill around and she falls on her side.

Lance looks up to see her at his feet, meanwhile Shiro was laughing at her.  She got up and crawled over to him, she wraps her arms around his neck and tried to wrestle him off of Black’s head.  Lance groans, they were being childish… is this how Shiro feels when Lance acts up? Probably not, this is far more annoying.

“Get off of me!  I’m trying to fly here!”  He says through laughter. He pushes her off and tries to fly again.  Narti didn’t give up and latched onto his back again. The two kept goofing off and laughing.  Lance groans and tries to block them out, he was starting to regret every life choice he has ever made in his entire life.

The two continued to goof off while Lance sat there completely unamused with their behavior.

* * *

Pidge stomps at the ground and a rock comes up, Keith kicks it away.  The two continued to do that while they walked down, somewhat practice, also they were bored.  The others walked along the path behind them. Hunk petting Yellow, who was perched on his shoulder like usual.  Meanwhile Coran and Matt were next to Green, helping her move along while pulling the heavy machine. She was unhappy to pull it.

Hunk caught up and walked alongside Keith and Pidge.

“Having fun you two?”

“No.”  Keith said as he kicked another rock in the distance.  “I’m bored and worried.” He tells his friend. Hunk nods and pushes the rock away before Keith could kick it.

“I’m sure everything will be fine… I hope.”  Hunk was the last person anyone needs reassurance from.  He was so unsure of everything.

“Thanks for your input.”  Keith says sarcastically. He rubs the stones between his fingers.  Hunk saw that and points.

“Hey I see that!  You are just as scared as me!”  He says. Pidge looks over and raised an eyebrow.

“Never seen that before, what is it?”

“It’s a necklace.”  Keith says it like it’s obvious what it is.

“I know that, looks cheap though… like it was made with a few rocks and string.”

“It’s actually a fishing line.”  Keith said as he kept rubbing the stones.  Pidge looks at the three purple rocks on the line.  They were all lumpy and uneven, like someone found them and stuck them on the line.

“Why do you have something like that?”

“It’s Keith’s good luck charm.”  Hunk informs the small earthbender.

“Lance made it way back before I learned water.  It’s been my go to thing for comfort.” Keith says.  A huge grin was plastered on Pidge’s face. Keith only raised an eyebrow.  “That’s an ugly grin.”

“Lance made that for you~”  She sings, Keith grew annoyed.

“Yes he did.”  He says, hoping she’d shut up.  She skips by him and kept annoying the crap out of the Avatar.

“That’s so sweet~  He made a necklace for you~”  Keith’s face grew a different shade.

“He gave it to me for good luck, that’s all.”  He growls, she chuckles and kept skipping. Hunk pats his friend’s back then looks back at the others.

“How’s everything back there.”

“We’re fine… Green’s been better.”  Matt says, Green makes a hissing noise to show her displeasure.  The noise caused Yellow to fluff up in fear. Keith and Pidge saw that and laughed.  The already fluffy cat became fluffier.

Pidge skips happily ahead, then an arrow went past her face.  Her smile turned into a worried one as she froze. She slowly looks in the direction the arrow came from.  Out of the bush, the cavalier showed up… all on rhinos. Another one shot an arrow at her, before it hit Keith came up and airbended it away.

“Well guess we found them.”  Keith said in a rather annoyed tone.

“More like they found us.”  Pidge comments back. Keith calls to the rest of his team.

“Alright everyone, get ready to fight!  No holding back, that includes you Hunk!”  As soon as he said that everyone ran at the cavalier.

Coran ran around and used his snakes to knock off the defenseless ones and threw them off their rhino.  He kept a safe distance since most of them could bend. Matt was running at them with his staff, everytime one of them tried to firebend Keith would counter it with an earth shield.  One almost got the non bender, Keith caught the fire and blasts it back at rider.

Hunk held up two massive boulders and launched them at some of the riders, who panicked and rode off or around it.  Next to him Pidge was surrounded, they thought to take out the weakest link. However Pidge was anything but. She created an earthwall and jumps off of it, nailing a rider in the face with a hard kick.

Matt saw one rhino was open and hopped on.

“Nice one sis!”  He says and rode around, knocking the riders off of their rhinos.  Keith kept firebending at the riders, since they tried bending at him and it clearly wasn’t working.  Since they kept firebending, Keith could keep catching it and shooting back.

Then there was Lotor and his generals, watching in the background.  Ezor groans and looks at Lotor.

“I want to get involved.”

“Okay, go.”  He says. “I’m not stopping you.”

“You won’t get involved milord?”  Acxa asks. He smiles.

“No, I won’t be much help.  You girls go at it.”

“If you insist.  Come on girls!” Acxa orders them to go out and attack.  Ezor and Zethrid cheer. They charged at the team. Keith sees them coming and shouts to his friends.

“Guys!  We have unwanted company!”

“Again?”  Pidge asks in annoyance.  Matt rides up, only for Zethrid to knock him off of the rhino.  She laughs, Coran grabs her arm with one of his snakes and pulls her off, knocking her against the ground.

“Ha!  Take that ya young vixen!”  He says, she looks up at him and growls.  “Oh no…” He runs away from the violent woman.  Matt runs after them, trying to help his friend.  Acxa firebends at Keith, he caught it and bends it back.

Enough time for Ezor to jump over her friend and start using close range firebending.  Punching and kicking at the Avatar, not giving him enough room to use her fire against her.  Keith trips her up using an air sweep and earthbends her off the ground. She went flying, but Acxa caught Keith off guard and rams into him with a rhino.

He flew by Hunk, who jumps in fear.  Pidge sees all the soldiers surrounding them.  She looks at Hunk.

“You ready Hunk?”

“I guess…”  He grabs Yellow and puts the kitty in his top.

“Like we practiced, GO!”  The two jump, then the ground consumed them.  The soldiers jump back, looking around for the earthbenders.  Then the ground under them shook, the two earthbenders jump out of the ground near the soldiers.  Pidge waved with a dark grin, Hunk gave a worried smile.

Before the soldiers had time to react the ground around them and their rhinos sank.  They scream as they fell in the trench. Pidge and Hunk high five each other, then noticed Keith had his hands full.

“We got ya buddy!”  Hunk calls. They ran towards him.

Keith blocks another attack Acxa sends at him, Ezor kicks him in his side.  He glares at her and airbends both girls away. While Acxa calmed the rhino she was on Pidge runs in and earthbends a large rock at the general and knocks her off.  The rhino ran off in fear.

Acxa glares at her and started firebending at Pidge.  The small girl blocks and ran at Acxa, creating an earth gauntlet and taking swings at the firebender.  She kept dodging the assault with swift movement and tried to get away from Pidge so she could attack. She can’t do it when her target is so close.

Ezor jumps at Keith again, Hunk made a wall and pushed her away.  She lands and pouts at them.

“I don’t see my cute tribesman anywhere.”  She says in a sad voice. The two boys look at each other then back at her.

“Is that all you care about?”  Hunk asks. She smiles.

“Well that and helping my friend restore his honor.”  She says, the two were silent with her again. Keith sends a powerful airblast at her and looks at Hunk.  They shrug, then Matt flew by. Keith used airbending to catch him. Hunk ran over to help Coran with Zethrid.

“You okay?”  He asks, Matt held his stomach and growls.

“She broke my staff and got my stomach.”

“Good thing the staff slowed the momentum down.”  Keith tells Matt. They heard grunting, the two look over and see the soldiers escaped the trench.  Both boys scream and run, leaving the other three to deal with Acxa and Zethrid.

Hunk kept blocking the larger girls attacks, Coran grabs her leg and tries to trip her.  She growls and grabs onto Hunk’s arm to pull him down with her. Hunk tried to keep himself up, but Zethrid is somehow stronger than him.

Hissing could be heard, she looks up at Hunk’s collar.  Yellow was angry, all flared up and teeth showing. He pounced off his owner on Zethrid’s face.  She panics as the cat sliced at her face, she forced the small cat off and threw the animal.

“Stupid cat!”  She shouts as she threw him.  Hunk gasps, Coran reacts by releasing Zethrid and using the snakes to catch Yellow.  Hunk looks over at her and glares.

“No one throws my beloved Yellow!”  He shouts and sends a large boulder at her, causing her to fly off and hit Acxa as she ran by.  Pidge saw that and looked at Hunk with shock.

“Nice one!”  She says with a thumbs up, the pacifist smiles and rubs his neck awkwardly.  Coran walks up with Yellow in his arms.

“Caught Yellow.”  He tells the earthbender.

“Aw thanks Coran, you’re the best.”  He says and nuzzles his cat. “You okay buddy?”  He asks, Yellow makes a soft mewl purrs, happy to be in his owner’s arms again.  Pidge looks around in confusion.

“Uh… where’s my brother?”  She asks. The other two shrug and look around.

Meanwhile Matt and Keith kept running from the soldiers, out of nowhere the soldiers set off a smoke trap.  Smoke covered them and their vision. Both Matt and Keith separated and tried looking through the smoke. They lost eachother, which was awful seeing as how the soldiers were still after them.

“Keith!  Keith where are you?”

“Here!”  Keith starts to jump to see if he could see Matt, no luck.  He stops and calls. “Matt?”

“Where are you?  I can’t see!”

“I’m over here!”  Keith calls. “Here, let me just-!”  He airbends the smoke away, he saw he was surrounded by soldiers.  He quickly moves the smoke back with the most paranoid face ever. “Uh nevermind… I’ll just find you!”

Matt did manage to crawl his way out of the smoke cloud.  As he reached the exit Keith jumped out and bolts.

“Running running running-!”  He says, Matt looks behind him and screams.  He got off his knees and ran with Keith. The soldiers after them.

Keith stops and took a deep breath, the earth around him shook.  Matt looks around in fear, never feeling the earth move this violently before.  As the soldiers grew closer Keith held both his arms out and looked like he was lifting something invisible off his shoulders.

Then a huge chunk of earth was above both Keith and Matt, the non bender starts to scream.  He wasn’t the only one, the soldiers were all panicking. Keith showed no care or remorse. He had a calm expression as he moved the earth over the soldiers.  In one swift and quick movement he throws it down, killing majority of the soldiers.

Matt takes a few deep breaths and looks over slowly at Keith.  The Avatar showed no remorse, but Matt saw Keith was clenching onto the necklace, knuckles turning white at the grip.

“You just…”  Matt says. “You… holy shit.”  Matt has never seen Keith’s true potential.  It was unsettling. Keith started walking back.

“Come on Matt, lets find the others.”  He says, Matt took a second to get over his shock.  He got up and ran after Keith. They walk together in silence, Matt looks down and sighs.

“I lost my staff.”  He said in sadness. Keith looks at him and chuckles, now running his fingers gently over the stones.

“Sucks to be you.”  He teases, Matt looks at him and pushes him.  Both chuckling.

“You’re an ass.”  The two made it back to the others, Pidge clinging to her brother for dear life.  He smiles and pats his sisters head. They looked around for Green, they found her around a few paralyzed soldiers.  She had stuck them with her venomous tongue and paralyzed the soldiers to keep the flying machine safe.

“Aw good girl!”  Pidge cooes and runs up to her beloved friend, nuzzling her head against Greens.  “You are such a good girl, yes you are~”

“Glad to see you’re all okay.”  Keith said. “Come on, let’s keep moving.  Hopefully we won’t run into anymore soldiers, but just to be safe.”  He says. “We’ll start flying to Marmora tomorrow.”

“Aye aye.”  Pidge salutes.  The group started walking, accept for Coran.  He looks at Keith with a proud smile.

“You’re doing an amazing job.  Never thought I’d see you being a leader.”

“You think I’m doing okay?”  Keith asks.

“Well a little rough along the edges, but with some patience and maybe a smidge of maturing and growing up… you could make a great leader.”  He says, Keith smiles at that. He thought he was doing awful.

“Thanks.  Let’s keep up with them.”  He says, Coran nods and the two walk after their friends.

* * *

The air was the most boring thing when you have nothing to do.  Lance was lazily bending while Narti and Shiro spoke. They have flown all day and now night.  They rested a bit but are now back in the sky. The waterbender was listening in on the other two’s conversation… if you can even call it that.

“So have you ever been outside of the Fire Nation before joining Lotor?”  He asks her. Narti shook her head. She began to point all around, as to say since meeting Lotor she’s been everywhere.  “Really? Ever been to the Air Temples?” He asks.

She thought then shook her head.  Shiro smiles and looks back at the night sky.

“You’d love it.  It’s such a peaceful place, and it’s full of so many things to explore.”  He tells her, Narti smiles in excitement. She’s never even heard what the temples were like.  “If you’d like, I can take you there someday.” Narti nods almost violently. That sounded amazing.

Lance rolls his eyes and looks at the moon, not even Tui’s presence made him comfortable.  He rolls to his side and picks at the dirt on Black’s saddle. Shiro and Narti kept talking, somewhat.

Lance looks over at the two, he about gagged.  Shiro looked like a lovestruck fool. The worst part is, Lance believes Shiro is oblivious to his own feelings.  And Narti, though blind she isn’t dumb, doesn’t seem to notice. You can hear how awkward Shiro was being. How can someone be so oblivious to one’s feelings?  Lance is glad he isn’t that dumb.

“Are you sure they’re in the sky?”  He asks, interrupting the two. They looked over at him.  Narti shrugs. “So you don’t know?” She points at her ears, telling him she didn’t hear anything about that, and he knew she couldn’t read the letter.  Lance groans and leans back.

“If they did find a way to fly… It’s strange…”  Shiro said. The other two look at Shiro.

“What’s strange about it?”  Lance asks.

“Well only Air Nomads have flown before.  With the help of the bison, and our gliders, we can fly around.  I wonder how they fly.” He says. Lance looks to the side and his eyes grew wide.

“I think we’re about to find out!”  Lance says and points. Shiro looks over and his eyes grew wide.  A couple of airships come through the clouds, and by a couple they mean about twenty?  Thirty? Who knows and who cares, there is a lot of ships and only three people to take them out.

Narti lifts her hood up and looks in the direction of the noise the ships made.  Shiro looks in horror, he stears Black down under the ships and looks at the other two.

“Alright you two, get ready!”  Shiro commands, the two nod in response.  Lance opens the pitcher of water while Shiro flew closer to the ships.  The soldiers spot them again and point, a million voices spoke up, thinking the Avatar was with them.

Lance looks at the ships and back at Shiro.

“They’re using fire and what looks like… I don’t know, cloth?”  He says. It was like a balloon moving towards them. Shiro didn’t want to know how they were flying anymore, he wanted them out of the sky.

As soon as they started firebending the other three attack.  Shiro used his staff to protect himself from attacks, Lance used waterbending to block them off, Narti just took the fire and shot it back.  Lance took the water and turned them into ice shards, shooting them at the weak point of the ship. The only thing keeping them in the sky besides fire.

The ship started to fall.  Shiro sees that and cheers.

“Nice one Lance!”  He calls, Lance smiles and went back to shooting.  The soldiers firebended at the ice, melting it in the process.  Lance wasn’t one to give up though.

Narti goes to her hip and held up a few knives, Lance just looks at her with much doubt.  She held them up, waits, then in a swift movement she threw them and actually hits one of the ships, Lance looks at her with shock.

“That… that was impressive.”  He says, she smiles at him and quickly caught the fire coming at Lance.

“Don’t get distracted, we have to take down all of them!”  Shiro calls. “Lance, do you think you can hit some of these with a waterwhip?”

“Ha, you crazy?!”  Lance asks like Shiro was nuts.  “The only one who can probably reach is currently down with everyone else!”  He says. Shiro started to fly closer.

“Okay then, I’m gonna fly closer.  Narti you keep countering their attacks, Lance waterwhip them out of the sky.”  He commands, the two agreed and watched as the ships approached them.

Lance took some water out of the pitcher and started launching it at the ship closest.  Narti would catch the fire the benders shot at them and launch it back. Though she was only one person so she couldn’t catch them all.  A ball of fire came and hit Lance’s arm, he yelps and held it, seeing his glove was sliced and the skin below it turning an ugly shade of red.

“Okay Black, you know what to do!”  Shiro tells the bison, he makes a low noise in response.  He stood next to Lance and began to airbend the fire away.  “You keep doing your thing Lance, Narti and I got you covered.”

“Thanks.”  He lifts the water back up and sliced through another ship.  Black was maneuvering the best he can, trying to get close. A firebender caught Shiro in the leg, he grunts and held his leg in pain.  Lance looks down.

“Shiro, you okay?”  He asks with concern.  Shiro nods, Lance glares and got on his level.  “Narti, cover us!” She nods and kept the fire away the best she could.  Lance pulled Shiro’s hand away from the wound.

“Lance focus on destroying the ships!”  He snaps, a ship blew up next to them due to Narti firebending.

“Narti’s got some of them covered.”  Lance argues. “Let me help you.” He moves the water he used to attack and heals Shiro’s burn.  The Air Nomad flinches at the slight pain it brought, but it felt better after a few seconds. As soon as Lance was done he smiles and got up.

“You good?”  He asks as he helped Shiro up.  He nods and held his staff up. He airbends a fire out on one, Narti firebends at it and it fell to the ground.  The sky started turning grey with smoke the falling ships left behind.

Lance created another waterwhip and sliced through another ship.  They didn’t notice one behind them and a few soldiers hopped on. Shiro and Narti look over and looked back at Lance.

“Keep at it, we’ll take care of them.”

“When did they hop on?!”  Lance asks in fear. He does as he’s told and kept slicing through the ships.  Shiro airbends at them, only one fell off… okay that person died. Narti runs at them and firebends one guy by kicking, the other she slit the throat of and threw the dead body off.  Shiro was terrified on how ruthless she was.

She kicks another soldier in the face and breathed fire at him as he fell.  Lance saw that as well and slowly looked back at the ships he was attacking.

“Forget I ever saw that.”  He mutters. Shiro went back to helping Lance with the other firebenders while Narti dealt with the ones who climbed on Black, and a lot of people were going with that idea.  Soon enough the whole sky looked like a warzone, the three either knocking down ships, blowing away fire, or slaughtering anyone who dare crosses them.

It went on for almost an hour, but to them it felt like only minutes passed, and it was a horrible few minutes.  Lance started feeling weak after a bit, they still had about ten or so ships still up, but they made a dent in their fleet.  Shiro made the decision to leave now while they’re covered in smoke.

“Let’s get out of here!”  He shouts. He grabs the reigns and flew off in the smoke.  As soon as they were out of sight Lance fell over due to exhaustion.  Narti grabs Lance and held him close, he didn’t care about that, all he cared about were his sore muscles.  He uses Narti as a bed and falls asleep.

Shiro looks back at what they did, he knew that caused them supplies, ships, and soldiers.  And if the others met up with the foot soldiers then without a doubt this was a huge loss for the Fire Nation.

He sighs, trying to ignore all the killing he has done.  A monk is never supposed to kill, yet he has done that, ever since he went on this journey.  He knows it’s for the greater good, it’s to protect the Avatar and bring peace. But at what cost?

He looks at the other two.  Narti looked like she was staring off in space while petting Lance’s sleeping face.  She must be trying to pet his bangs that curl around his face. He looks back at Black, the poor bison whimpers in pain, Shiro pets his side and nods.

“Don’t worry buddy, we’ll rest and Lance will heal you when we get to the Marmora Base.”  He says with a warm smile. “You did so good buddy.” He praises Black and continued towards the Marmora Base, he hopes he’s going the right way.


	11. It Can't Be That Bad, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block, writers block... oh how I hate it... Enjoy the chapter while I hopefully get the next one started.

It’s been days since Keith and the gang arrived at the Marmora Base.  He was way too worried about Shiro and the others to do anything. He wouldn’t even train, much to Pidge’s annoyance.  She got him outside, but all he did was clench onto the necklace and pace back and forth.

“Keith come on!”  She complains, Keith glares at her.  “Just do one move, in fact you can’t pace around till you do one advance move.  So until I see an advance earthbending move you can’t le-” Keith earthbends a large chunk of earth and threw it into the water, landing with a massive splash that could be seen over the trees.  Glaring at the small girl as he did it. She sat there jaw dropped.

Keith took that as a sign that he didn’t need to train anymore.  He went back to pacing. Kolivan saw that and looks at Keith.

“I know you are anxious… but please do not do that again.”  He tells Keith. “I don’t want my base to be full of potholes…”  He says in a rather bored tone. Keith went back to pacing, Pidge groans and walked over to Hunk, who was just watching Keith.

“He’s not stopping.”

“He won’t until the others are back.”  Hunk said. Coran comes up out of nowhere while Matt was messing with his gadgets in the back.

“Can’t you stop him Coran?”  Pidge asks.

“You think I can stop him?!  Boy can move mountains now! I ain’t messing with that!”  He flat out says. “Also he’s fine. He just wants to know if the others are okay.”  Coran says, he looks at Keith. “Trust me, he’ll be better as soon as his whole family is together.”

The two nod, still upset that Keith won’t stop.  Meanwhile Matt launches himself into a tree due to the grappling hook attaching to a tree.  No one really paid any mind to that.

* * *

The bison lands at the base that night and the three hop off, all tired and needing rest.  The rest of the team runs out to meet them. Keith latched himself to Shiro, the older man chuckles and pats his head.  Both Hunk and Pidge got to Lance and hugged him tight, he grunts in pain.

“Come on you two… and here I thought Keith was bad…”  He says. He heard Coran chuckle and jumped when the older man snuck over and joined the hug.

“We missed you, boy.”  He says. Lance smiles and finally wiggled free of all the hugging.  He saw Matt was talking to Shiro about what happened. Keith joining in the conversation.

“You missed so much.”  Hunk said.

“For once I’m glad we missed something… cause what we went through was hell.”  He says, noticing Narti hopping down. “Right?” He asks her, she nods. Pidge and Hunk look at one another then back at Lance.

“You… you’re getting along with her now?”

“She was right about the airships, and helped out.  She’s okay in my book.” He says, that got a smile out of Narti.  She walks towards Shiro and stood next to him, both Matt and Keith look at her.

“Still with us huh?”  Keith asks, she nods and leans against the airbender happily.  Everyone else walks up to the group and decided to talk more tomorrow.  They had flown all the way with only one stop to check on Black, they were all exhausted.

The small home that once only held two people was now crowded with a total of eight people laying around randomly.  Coran was near the center, resting on his back like a corpse. Diagonal from him was Lance who was somewhat sprawled out, Pidge curled in a tight little ball at his side, his arm around her.  Matt fell asleep sitting against the wall, Keith resting his head against his leg. Shiro lays on his side, above his head was Hunk snoring loudly, the most sprawled out out of everyone. Narti was only a foot away from him, laying on her stomach.

Barely any blankets, pillows, or even mats, yet the team was so comfortable that night.  Probably just the comfort of knowing that everyone was alright.

* * *

That morning everyone woke up by doing that themselves or someone shaking them.  Shiro hands Hunk the bag full of supplies so he could start cooking while everyone else spoke about what they’ve seen.

“You should’ve seen all the soldiers on the ground.”  Pidge says. “I’ve never seen so many.”

“Oh yeah?  Try thirty or so airships full of soldiers.”  Lance tells her. “The only reason I passed out was due to my whole body being sore from trying to take all of them out.”

“Yeah there were a lot, we didn’t even get all of them.”  Shiro says. The whole team chuckles.

“How hard is it to knock someone out of the sky?”  Matt asks.

“Uh hard?”  Lance sounded insulted.  “Seriously we had to slice through the weak spot on the ships while avoiding firebenders!”  He says. “Narti had to stop blocking fire cause a few soldiers came on, by the way she is a serious savage on the battlefield.”  He says.

“Uh Lance… we fought her before.”

“No, Shiro and I saw some brutal fighting from her.  She slit someone’s throat.” That made Hunk hold his throat on instinct.  That sounded awful.

“Makes me wonder why she never did that to us.”  Shiro says, looking at her with a soft smile. She looks in his direction and started to point at Keith… or in Keith’s general direction.  Shiro looks over and nods. “It has something to do with Keith?”

She nods, Shiro thought for a moment.  Coran spoke up.

“Zarkon doesn’t want him dead.”  He says, Narti nods and points at Coran.  Saying he got it. Keith looks at her with a worried look.

“Zarkon… what does he plan on doing to me if he manages to catch me?”  He asks, Narti cocks her head to the side and tried to figure out how to tell them.  She began to tap on Shiro’s arm, he’s the only one who seems to ever understand what she’s trying to say.

He nods and grabs her hand to stop her.

“He’s going to use the comet though.  What’s the point of using the Avatar?”  He asks her. She made a grand hand gesture, as to say something catastrophic was happening.  Keith felt his body go cold.

“He… he’s planning on making me destroy the last lines of defense… isn’t he.”  He says. “He wants me to use the comet.”

“If Keith harnesses the power of the comet then it would be the end for everyone!  Is Zarkon truly that mad?!” Lance had to ask.

“I think that’s been established.”  Shiro says. “Now that we took out the majority of their army, we shouldn’t be dealing with them for a while.”  He looks at everyone. “For now let’s just wait here, I’m going out and taking Narti back to the Fire Nation base.”

“You’re taking her back?  Why?” Pidge asks.

“She could give us more info if she were with the Fire Nation.  So for now she should be with them.” Narti nods in agreement. The group decides that it was what’s best.  Shiro got on Black with Narti and the two waved the others off. Once gone the whole group went to do their own thing.

“Well Hunk and I are going to go practice some more.  We need to get some of the master stuff down, since someone has already gotten to that.”

“Shut up.”  Keith says with a chuckle.  Pidge grabs Hunk’s arm and the two ran off.  Matt looks at Coran.

“Can you please show me how to work these things?”  He asks, Coran looks.

“The snakes?  Why absolutely!”  He drags Matt away.  “To the woods!”

Lance looks around, not much for him to do.  He took one step then the earth beneath him moved.  He screams and fell backwards, Keith caught him and chuckles.  Lance looks at him and pouts.

“Not funny Keith!”

“What?  I haven’t gotten to welcome you back yet.”  He says in a voice full of innocence. Lance raised an eyebrow.

“You saw me last night and this morning.”

“But Hunk and Pidge hogged you.”

“You went to Shiro.”  Lance points out.

“Let me say hi to you now~”  Keith says in a playful voice.  He picks Lance up slightly off the ground and spins him around.  Lance squeaks then started laughing.

“Keith put me down!”  He laughs. “I’m serious!  Stop!”

“Make me.”

“Stupid Avatar!”  Lance wiggles his way out of Keith’s arms.  Keith laughs and caught him again, Lance pushes his face.  “For the love of all that is- put me down!” He kept laughing.  Keith stops and lets Lance go, he fell on the ground and kept laughing.  Keith crouched down and got on his level.

“Hey.”  He waits for Lance to stop laughing, mainly because he was starting to laugh as well.  Lance managed his laughter to now a mild chuckle. “You want to explore?”

“Explore?”

“Yeah.”  He grabs Lance’s arm.  “Come on, let’s go!”

“No, the last time I went anywhere I got in huge trouble.”

“You’ll be with me this time.”  Keith said with a smile, Lance raised an eyebrow.

“And that’s supposed to be better?”

“Yes.”

“Oh really.”  Lance teased, Keith gave a smirk and tugged Lance along.

“If something happens I’ll protect you.”  He says, Lance pouts.

“I should not keep telling you that I can take care of myself.”

“Says the guy who was put in jail.”

“That was Pidge’s fault.”  Lance points out. Keith lets go of Lance when he realizes the waterbender was following him.  “And it’s water under the bridge, so let’s just forget about it.”

“Nah.  Come on, let’s explore~”

“I’m coming, yeesh.”  Lance grabs Keith’s arm and looked around.  “But if something bad happens I’m going to kill you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh yeah I would.”  Lance says. “I don’t care who you are or how beautiful you look, I will kill you.”  Keith just laughs.

“Well good luck fighting against Zarkon without me.”  Keith said as he climbs over a branch. The two walked past Hunk and Pidge who were practicing, Swirn found them and was watching them practice.  She sees the two and waves, they wave back and kept walking.

They didn’t know where they were going or what they were going to find, but honestly this was far better than sitting around waiting for Shiro to come back.  So everyone is just going to do something till their leader comes back.

* * *

Shiro looks at all the clouds passing by, he will never get over the sky.  Narti leans against him, feeling the wind against her skin. He looks at the small firebender and smiles, she looked so peaceful.  Like nothing was wrong at the moment. She taps his arm lightly, like she’s trying to say something. He watches her for a moment before responding.

“You really wish to stay with us?”  He asks, she nods. “I would like that, but I think it’s better if you were with Lotor so he’s not alone.  Also you’re an amazing spy.” He tells her. She frowns and started lightly scratching at his clothes. “Though you can join us when the war is over.”

She looks up at him with a slightly surprised face.  He chuckles a bit.

“Well does that sound like a good idea?”  Shiro asks. Narti got over her surprise and nods happily.  She started tapping his arm quickly. “Y-Yeah, I can take you to the temples after that.”  He blushed slightly, Narti cuddles into his arm and smiles.

“I’m sure my people would love to meet you.”  He says. She kept staring off at the distance, but was listening closely.  “I can make that a promise if you want.” She slowly looks up at him, when she does that Shiro forgets she’s blind.  It’s like she’s looking right at him.

Shiro came back to himself and looked through his things, he found the wing charm he had and hands it to her.  Narti feels the object in her hand, her eyes went wide as her fingers traced it. Her brow quirks.

“It’s a charm, my father gave it to me when I was very young.  It’s precious to me.” He tells her, Narti cocks her head to the side.  She wonders why Shiro is letting her hold it. “I’m giving it to you.” She looks up in shock.  “That’s going to be my reminder, once this war is over I’ll take you to the Air Temples.” He tells her, Narti felt the charm again and nods.

She gave him a soft smile and tightened her grip on the charm.  She leans against Shiro again and rests her eyes. He pats her head and went back to flying.

* * *

Lance about trips over a branch, he caught himself on a tree and growls.  He cuts the branch with water and kept walking. Keith chuckles at him, Lance glares at him.  Keith didn’t feel threatened and continued to walk down the path. Lance pouts behind him and looks around.

“Where are we?”  He asks. “I haven’t been in this part of the base.”

“Dunno, but it’s nice isn’t it?”  Keith asks. “All peaceful and quiet.  I could meditate here.”

“The trees are blocking the sky.”  Lance says. Keith looks at him and smirks.

“Is that a problem?  The sun is still showing through.”  He says.

“When it’s night you won’t be able to see the moon.”  Lance walks over a vine as he spoke. Keith nods, that would bother Lance, not being able to see the moon.

“I just noticed how different we are.”

“Hm?”  Lance asks.

“Well it’s more than our nations.  I mean I’m so short tempered, quick to fight, and just a general hot head.  You’re just so calm, collected, and usually don’t jump to fighting.” Keith says.  “I mean you’re like water. So flexible and adaptable. Something people can be near and feel… relaxed.”  He said. Lance just stares, then looks down, red dusting his cheeks.

Keith continued to walk down the stretch of road.  Lance caught up to him and held his arm.

“You know… you aren’t bad yourself.”  He tells him. “Yeah you’re temperamental and quick to start a fight.  But… I think it’s cool. I mean, you. I think you’re cool.” He says, Keith felt himself smile and kept walking.

“You seem to like the strangest things.”

“Calling yourself strange?”

“I ain’t saying I’m normal.”  Keith points out, Lance started to laugh.

“You’re not normal, but that’s what I really like about you.  You’re not like everyone else.” Lance started speaking quietly.  “You’re teaching me to be brave, and got me over my biases against the Fire Nation.  I’m glad I met someone like you.” He says.

Keith kept the dumb grin on his face, he can’t help but feel happy.  Happy that someone is saying such nice things about him, and it’s the one he loves no less.  The two continued in the wooded area, trying to find something.

* * *

Coran looks at his grappling hook, it had a dent in it.  Matt rubs the back of his neck and looks at Coran.

“I’m so sorry.”  He says, Coran shakes it off.

“Think nothing of it.  These things break all the time.”  Coran says. “I’ll have to fix it a bit, bend the metal hook.  This would be a lot easier if I could bend.” He grumbles, Pidge and Hunk heard him and looked over.

“Metalbending?  That’s near impossible.”  Pidge says. Hunk nods.

“Yeah, it’s a rare skill.”

“Well I want to know it because I can’t do anything without tools and weapons.”  Coran snaps. Matt agrees with the older man.

“You two have no idea how hard it is to be a non bender.”

“Swirn ain’t complaining.”  Hunk points at the young woman who was holding her daughter close.  She looks up and smiles, showing that she had no care in the world. Pidge makes a wall and hops onto it.

“Also you two complain about us benders, yet you’re friends with the Avatar.”  She points out.

“Yes that’s kind of an oxymoron.”  Swirn says. Matt gave Swirn a questioning brow.

“Are you using that word right?”

“Look all I’m saying is that knowing how to bend would be a heck of a lot easier!”  Coran interrupts and went back to complaining. Hunk and Pidge look at each other, they shrug and went back to practicing.  Nothing they say now was going to make Coran any less upset. They’ll just go back to doing there thing and leave Coran and Matt to do whatever it is non benders do.

Swirn bounces Kogane in her arms and looks up at the sky.  Her daughter made a confused noise and looks up as well, trying to see what her mother was looking at.

“I wonder if Shiro is okay.”

“Shiro?  Meh the guy is probably dropping Narti off right this moment.  He’s probably fine.” Matt says and messed with the grappling hook.  “He’ll be back soon enough.” Though he said that, Swirn had a sick feeling in her gut, call it woman’s intuition.  Maybe Shiro will be fine, but that doesn’t mean something bad won’t happen.

* * *

The two found a clearing in the forest.  Keith walks into it with curiosity, Lance stayed back a bit to take in the new sight.  He’s been in the forest many times, even when he did not know it was the base. He has never seen this part of the island before… how big is this place anyways?

Lance saw Keith was already ahead and ran to catch up to him, they walked around until they found a tiny home, not a shrine at all.  Keith walked ahead, Lance slowly behind. They slide the door open and walk through, seeing decorations and scrolls everywhere. It was organized and well kept, but dusty.  This place must not be used often if dust coats the table in the center.

“What is this place?”  Lance asks out loud. Keith said nothing but opens a scroll.  He blows the dust off, then coughs as some of it got in his airway.  He read it quietly. It was names, in a random order that made no sense.

Keith was confused, he concluded that these must be the names of the Marmorians.  But if that were true then why is it in a dusty home in the middle of a forest? They’ve added more members so shouldn’t that be written?  Swirn was a great example of this.

He opens another scroll and saw it were rules, or ways of the Marmorians.  He hands it to Lance, who read a few passages and puts it down. Keith looks at the dust covered decorations, he saw one of a fan and wipes it off… then froze.

Lance felt the aura around them change, he looks at Keith and walks up to see what has gotten him so spooked.  He looks at what Keith was staring at and had almost the same reaction.

“No way…”  The fan had the same symbol, the one Keith was searching for.  His shock turned into rage, he kicks the wall. A crack was left behind.  Lance jumps at Keith’s outburst, the Avatar was pissed off.

He storms out and went back into the base, Lance following right behind him.  This isn’t going to end well.

* * *

The base was fairly calm till the Avatar showed up.  He storms into Kolivan’s house, the large man sitting down peacefully, no emotion changed.

“Is there something wrong?”  He asks, Keith had his journal in his hands.  He opens it and shows Kolivan the symbol.

“You tell me what this means right now!”  He shouts, sounded upset. Kolivan raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I know you know this symbol!  What does it mean?” He kept shouting, Kolivan sighs.

“It is nothing more than the symbol of the Marmorians.  We use that as a way to connect with our fellow man.” Kolivan gave Keith a look of disapproval.  “I want to know how you got a hold of that.”

Keith didn’t say anything, he shook his head.  It’s over… he won’t find this woman now. All this time he was trying to find Marmora, it was like going in a big circle.  Keith snaps and threw his journal down.

“YOU TELL ME NOW!  I SAW A WOMAN AT THE SWAMP WHO WAS A PART OF THE MARMORIANS!  YOU TELL ME WHO SHE IS!” He screams at Kolivan, the larger man did not approve of a spring chicken like Keith yelling at him.  He stood, towering over Keith and glares.

“I will tell you no such thing.  Marmorians are sworn to secrecy, and even if I could tell you I do not know what woman you are talking about.”  Keith wasn’t going to take that answer. He tried punching Kolivan, the older man caught his fist.

The young firebender began to growl in frustration.  His hand lit on fire, ready to burn the leader to a crisp.  Then a strong stream of water held his other arm back, trying to pull him away.

“Keith stop it!  Calm down, it’ll be okay!”  Lance tried reasoning with him.  Keith took control of the water and forced Lance up, then slamming him back down onto the floor.  Lance stood up and saw a bit of his head was bleeding, he grumbles and looks at Keith.

He tried firebending but Kolivan wrung his wrist, Keith shrieks in pain.  Then got his other hand up, his eyes started glowing white. Kolivan showed no fear towards the Avatar.

Then a sharp kick comes out of nowhere and knocks Keith in the head, knocking him out.  Kolivan showed some emotion, that being shocked and looks at the one who managed to knock the Avatar unconscious with one kick.  The only one being Lance, who was slowly putting his leg down.

“I-I am so sorry Kolivan.  I-He didn’t- I’m sorry.” Lance kept apologizing for Keith’s behaviour.  Kolivan’s face went back to its neutral state.

“You do not apologize for him.”

“But he’s been trying to find this woman ever since the swamp.  She might be someone important to him.” Lance looks down. “I think him seeing the symbol made him think that all hope was lost.”  He says, Kolivan glares and looks at Keith.

“He acted on impulse.”  He states. “Even going as far as hurting a friend.”  Lance got down and picked Keith up. “Get him out of my sight, now.”  He growls, Lance nods and ran out with Keith in his arms.

Great… now they’ll need to explain this to Shiro.  He was so not going to be happy when he gets back.

* * *

“Okay here’s your stop.”  Shiro says, Narti giggles and hops down.  “I’ll see you around.” He gave her a wink that she could not see and flew off.  Narti waves and walks back to base, which wasn’t too far, she could hear them.

Narti felt her ear, she put the charm on there like an earring.  She smiles, feeling butterflies in her stomach. That airbender is making her feel some strange things that she has never felt before, and she doesn’t mind that.  Heck she’s going to see the Air Temples when this is all over, she can’t wait.

As soon as she made it back she strips her cloak off and walks back like she was returning from a random mission, Ezor being the first to greet her.

“Narti!”  She hugs her blind friend tight.  “Where have you been? I was  _ soooooo _ worried about you!”  She says, Narti chuckles silently.  “No you have no idea. I kept asking Lotor where you went and he ordered me to not worry about it.  Isn’t that just messed up?”

Narti nods and walks towards her friends.  Lotor pulls her in for a hug and smiles.

“Glad to see you’re safe.”  He says, Narti nods. “Did you complete your mission?”  He asks, another nod. Lotor gave her a soft smile. “Good job.”

The other two walk over and greet their tiny friend, missing her just as much.  She smiles and accepts her friends embrace.

“Lotor.”  A soldier walks up.

“What is it?”  He asks, sounding rather bored.

“The Fair Lady would like a word.”

“Got it.”  He gestures for his generals to follow him.  They did as they were told and walked into her tent.  She was standing there, looking horrified.

“It should have worked, I made sure everything was perfect.  My calculations weren’t off, they’re never off. Yet...yet somehow the Avatar knew about both the land strike and the aerial attack.”  She looks at her son.

“I cannot… I cannot accept this.  Was I, Honerva, wrong? Did I mess up somehow?”

“Mother it is alright.”  Lotor tried to comfort her.  “He had the upperhand this time as well, nothing new for that group.”

“But no one besides this camp knew, no one could’ve predicted it!”  She says. “Oh what am I supposed to do? I cannot make another plan, he might take that out as well.”  She groans in her hands. “I am a failure.”

“You are not.”  He says. “Mother it will all be okay.  Just breathe. We will catch the Avatar if it’s the last thing we do.”  He tells her, she nods and took a deep breath.

“Okay… you are right my son.”  She cleared her head and looked at her map.  “So the next course of action… what should it be…?”  Before she could think of anything a burnt and bruised soldier ran in.  He was out of breath and looked miserable.

“Fair Lady!”  He shouts. “I have news!  Horrible ne-” He looks at Lotor’s generals, one look at Narti and he screams.  “IT’S YOU!”

Narti jumps back a bit, looking horrified.

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO KILLED OUR MEN, YOU DAMN TRAITOR!”


	12. Like a Child

The whole tent was silent, everyone glaring at Narti.  She held herself in fear, wondering what everyone was thinking at the moment.  The soldier continued.

“You were with the Avatar’s friends!  You helped them!” He snaps, Narti’s blood went cold, one survived that mess?  That was a massacre yet someone lived. She backs away, Zethrid blocking her from escaping.

“What does he mean Narti?”  She asks in a low voice, Narti shook her head.  She couldn’t even answer if she wanted to. Ezor and Acxa walked closer.

“Well Narti?  Is this true?”  Ezor asks. She panics and ran to Lotor, hugging him to avoid any harsh punishment.  She was found out, and even though she is sworn to protect and follow Lotor, at the moment she’d rather run away and live to see another day.

Acxa sees something sparkle in her hair, she grabs it, causing Narti to yelp in pain as she was tugged by her ear.

“What is this thing?”  She hisses, Narti slaps Acxa’s hand away and backs away from them all, but the soldier blocked her exit.  No one was going to let her get away, not after what this soldier just said.

She looks at Lotor for help, he grabs her and held her close.

“Everyone please, I’m sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this.”  He says.

“And what would that be, my son?”  Honerva cuts in, Lotor looks at his mother in the same fear as Narti.  Her hazel eyes pierced into her son. “You knew she attacked, didn’t you.”  She hissed.

Lotor said nothing, he just hugs Narti in a protective hold.  That gave it away to Honerva.

“You.”  She growls.  “You told them!  You gave away the plan!  That is the only way they could’ve known!”  Honerva felt so much betrayal. She looks over at Narti.  “And you followed him! You and your entire family is supposed to be loyal to the royal family!  You honorless vixen!” She yells.

Narti glares, though she was looking at the wall of the tent.  She wiggles out of Lotor’s grasp, ready to escape anytime. The others knew that, Narti was very much fight or flight, and if she has to fight then she will fight.

“You both have brought shame to your home!  To your nation!” Honerva says. “I see I must take matters into my own hands.”

“Mother, what are you planning?  Do you really want to hurt us?”

“Lotor.”  Honerva gave him a hurt look.  “I won’t hurt you, you are my treasure.”  The air seemed to lighten slightly. “But I cannot say the same for your friend.”  She lifts her arms up at Narti, the blind girl froze, Lotor’s breathing stopped.

“No, no no no Mother don’t!”  He begs. It was too late though, Honerva violently moves her arms to the side, Narti practically flew in that direction.  She hits one of the tables on that side, breaking the thing in half. Narti shudders in pain.

Honerva wasn’t done, she lifts Narti up and moved her limbs violently.  She moves like a crazed puppet. Lotor and the rest of his generals back away as she moves.  The girls have never seen this and began to fear her, wondering what has possessed her.

Ezor hugs Zethrid and screams as she kept walking towards them like some sort of demon, her eyes begging someone to help her.  Her spine twists and bends backwards, she let out a little scream. She made the blind girl run towards her team, they panic. Ezor clings to Zethrid to avoid her, Acxa defends herself by firebending.  Lotor saw her ready to attack.

“No!  Wait!”  He screams, but it was too late.  Acxa launches a firewhip at her and hits the little bender hard.  She falls back and whimpers in pain. Holding her chest tight, seeing blood drip out of her chest.  Narti slowly got up, she reached in her armor and pulls out her flute. Everyone backs away, she wobbles out with the flute in her hand.  Threatening to call Kova if necessary.

She stole a rhino and rode away, as soon as she was gone the soldiers shot arrows at her, it hit the rhino.  Narti didn’t want to leave the rhino but the soldiers might take care of it, not her, she’ll die. Narti ran the best she could, she needs to get away so she can live another day.

* * *

Lance was on top of their home still in Marmora, he was staring at the full moon.  Below he could hear Shiro scolding Keith for acting up, Lance lays down and listens below.

“I cannot leave you alone, can I!”

“Shut up!”

“No you keep quiet!  Lance had to knock you out so you wouldn’t hurt Kolivan!”

“It’s his fault!”  They kept at it. Lance groans in annoyance.  He knew Keith messed up, now Kolivan is upset with him.  Getting the leader of their most powerful allies was a huge mistake.  He plays with his bangs and kept looking at the moon.

“Thought we’d find you here.”  He heard Pidge, Lance shot up and saw both her and Hunk had earthbended their ways up onto the roof.

“Seriously how do you get up here?”  Hunk asks as they sat next to him. Lance helps Pidge sit in his lap, he holds her and looks at Hunk.

“What are you two doing up?”  He asks. “I usually share with you, and you’re out like a light by this hour.”

“Heh.”  Hunk rubs the back of his head.  “I know, but Pidge saw you up here and wanted to talk.”  He moves his hand away, Yellow chasing after it, demanding to be pet.

“Plus we can’t sleep at the moment.  Shiro and Keith won’t stop arguing.” Pidge brings up.  Lance nods and rests his chin on her head. “Did you seriously knock him out with one kick?”  She asks. Lance chuckles a bit and nods.

Hunk and Pidge both looked at him in shock, Lance managed to knock Keith out with one single kick to the face.  So Lance can kick high and have enough power to stop the Avatar.

“So when do you think they’ll stop?”  Pidge asks while looking down at the building, the group goes quiet to hear the other two still arguing.  They groan.

“I’m guessing for another season.”  Hunk says. Lance pouts and stares at the moon again, Pidge notices his staring and looked out at the moon with him.  She got bored staring at it. Hunk felt the same way.

“Soooo you guys wanna do something else?”  Hunk asks.

“Sure.”

“Beats staying here…”  The two created a tower made of earth, Lance hops on with them and goes down.  The three walk off into the forest to just look around.

Meanwhile inside the house it was still a mess of emotions.  Keith was still arguing, defending himself for what he has done.  Shiro was arguing over how disrespectful he was to Kolivan. Then there are the two non benders, who were sitting in the home awkwardly.  Matt was drying his hair, just getting out of a bath, while Coran was eating a bit of fruit. Both trying so hard to stay out of it.

The two jump when they saw a fireball come out of nowhere, about hitting the two in the corner.

“You don’t understand!”  Keith shouts in anger. “You will never understand!”

“I understand enough to know that I cannot leave you alone for one day!”  Shiro snaps. “Seriously Keith. Do you not know that your actions have consequences?!”

“Don’t talk down to me like I’m a fucking child!”

“Then quit acting like one!”

“Piss off!”  Keith stomps on the ground, air surrounds him.  The two in the corner were knocked to the ground.  Shiro held his ground and looked at Keith, he was livid.  Keith stormed out of the house.

“Keith, come back here now!”  Shiro calls, Keith didn’t listen.  He kept walking out of the house and away from the base.  He heard one of his friends trying to follow him, he earthbends a wall behind him and kept walking.

Matt was the one who was trying to follow.  Shiro walks out and helps him up, Coran looking out the window.

“Thanks.”  Matt says, Shiro nods.  “Will he be okay?”

“He’s throwing a hissy fit, he’ll suck it up and get over it.”

“But will he learn his lesson?”  Coran asks. “What he did wasn’t right.”

“I know.”  Shiro groans.  “Hopefully he’ll learn his lesson.  I don’t want to change him… but he needs to grow up.”

* * *

“And a one and a two and a one two three-”  Lance counts, the three breath and began to sing.

“ _ Ooooh there once was a man from the land near the rivers, he had an old wife who was quite the giver.  She gave away the house, he was mad when she announced, and he said to her “You’re left without a spouse.”. _ ”  The three laugh as they finished their little song.

They continued down the wooded area that had no path.  Pidge latched onto Hunk’s back and laughs, Lance looks at the two and chuckles.  Hunk did not really appreciate being a ride, but Pidge was cute so he’ll let it slide.  Yellow minded and crawled off Hunk and onto Lance’s shoulders. It was kind of nice to get away from all the yelling, they all were enjoying themselves at the relaxed aura the others gave off.

It was a welcomed change, the three finding that they love each others company.  It was like they were meant to meet and be friends. They’re very different though, despite this they get along like they’ve known each other forever.

“Y’all want to play a game?”  Pidge asks. The two boys look at her, or attempt to.  Lance shrugs and nods.

“What kind of game?”

“Name as many things about the Fire Nation you can!”

“Positive or negative?”  Hunk asks.

“Anything.”  Pidge says.

“Evil.”

“More than that Hunk.  Give us more to work with.”  Pidge says. Hunk thought for a moment.  He had nothing. “Lance you got one?” Lance was thinking, Pidge groans.

“Damnable.”  Hunk said, Lance gave a concerned look.

“Really?”

“I was gonna say repugnant.”  Pidge says.

“What about incomprehensible?”  Lance asks, his friends raised an eyebrow.

“What about them is incomprehensible?”  Hunk asks. Lance looks down.

“Not everyone from the Fire Nation is evil.  I mean Keith is from the Fire Nation, also the majority of the Marmorians.  Also Narti has shown she is trustworthy.”

“So you think that they’re hard to understand?”

“I’m saying we have some sort of bias against them because of Zarkon.”  He says. “I don’t know what the Fire Nation is truly like, but for the most part I think most of them are misunderstood.”

“You’re just letting your feelings speak for you.”  Pidge said in a rather apathetic tone. Lance raised an eyebrow at her.

“So?  I’m speaking on behalf of a mutual friend.”  He says. “So go on, say something about the Fire Nation with our allies in mind.”  Lance challenges them, Pidge stuck her tongue out.

“Can’t insult your “ _ Sweetie _ ”.”  She mocks.  Lance turned bright red, Hunk laughs at him.

“Nice one.”  The two high five.  Lance pouts.

“Oh ha ha ha.  Laugh it up.” He growls.

“Not our fault you make it easy.”  Pidge says.

“Yeah, your oblivious feelings for Keith make it way easier for us to pick on you.”  Hunk points out happily.

“And I think you’re forgetting I have your cat.”  Lance says, then bolts. Hunk’s laughter turned into shrieks of terror.  That’s his cat, his buddy. He ran after Lance, Pidge shouting into the night like she’s a warrior on a mighty steed.

* * *

Morning came by quicker than expected.  Keith came back that night and fell asleep on Black, refusing to talk to Shiro.  The group had to wait for the misfits to come back though. They went out that night and fell asleep during their night walks that always end badly and yet they never seem to learn.

Shiro leans against the bison that was holding the sleeping firebender.  Coran walks up, grooming his moustache. Shiro gave the most concerned look.

“Uh…”

“What?  Self grooming is important.”  Coran says. Matt chuckles.

“I guess Shiro doesn’t understand.”  He says, Shiro covers his face and looks at the sky.  “So what’s new?”

“Oh I don’t know, you tell me.  You’re travelling with us.” Shiro said with a raised eyebrow.  Matt pouts but looks up at Keith.

“He’s out like a light.”

“Good, we’ll be in the air when he wakes up… that is if those three idiots come back anytime soon.”  Shiro growls.

“I know, I hate it when this happens.  I mean Green is getting antsy without her little Pidgey around.”  Matt points at the Shirshu. Coran got the flying machine out and looks at the forest.

“Where are those youngings?”  He asks. The two shrug and kept waiting.  Soon enough the three come out of the forest, looking like hell.  Mud and dirt covered them, hair a mess, and looking as pleasant as you could imagine.  Coran waves at them.

“Morning you three~”  He sounded so pleasant, almost like he was mocking them.  Lance groans and climbs onto Black and saw a sleeping Keith, Shiro signals him to keep quiet.  Hunk climbs on and conks out, not caring what was going to happen next. Pidge leads Green onto the machine and leans against her pet as she fell asleep as well.

Matt and Coran looked at her and shrugs.  They got on the machine and began to peddle.  Shiro lends a hand and sent them in the sky with an airblast.  He climbs onto Black and with a yip yip they were off.

* * *

Keith opens his eyes and looks around, they were in the air.  He grew upset.

“What the hell Shiro?!”

“We were ready to leave.”  He says without looking at the younger boy.  Keith was about to blow.

“I wasn’t ready-”

“You aren’t going to keep harassing Kolivan about some woman you know nothing about.”

“I need to know who she is!  You didn’t go to the swamp, you don’t know what happens in there!”  His yelling woke the other two up. Lance groans and looks at them.

“Are you two still fighting?”  He asks in annoyance. Keith glares at Lance then went back to Shiro.  Ignoring the waterbender completely.

“I want down right now!  Now!”

“Keith I’m not landing.  We need to-”

“KOLIVAN IS HIDING SOMETHING-”

“IT IS THERE WAY KEITH!  ACCEPT IT!”

“NO, I WILL NOT!”

“Guys please-”

“STAY OUT OF THIS!”  Keith snaps, fire blowing out of his mouth.  Lance backs away, but he wasn’t afraid. In fact he was angry.

“Don’t snap at me like that.”  Lance says.

“I’LL SNAP AS MUCH AS I WANT!”

“Blow fire at me one more time and you’ll regret it.”  Lance hisses, Keith glares. He blows a small fire at Lance’s face.  The waterbender backs away from that, seeing Keith grow a smug little smirk, like he won the argument.  Lance glares at him.

He crawls to Shiro and points.

“What?”

“Down, now.”

“No Lance, I’m not lan-”

“Now.”  He says.  “Just do as I say, you’ll see what I’m doing.”  He tells their leader in a calm voice. Shiro takes it and lowers himself.  Hunk looks over at the edge, he was staying out of the violent conversation, and wondering why they’re landing.

“Uh guys… why are we landing so soon… and in a very open area?”  He asks with concern. Shiro shrugs. As soon as they landed Keith was just as confused.

“Yeah I’m with Hunk… I only see a few trees and bushes…”  He points out. Lance hops down and points to the ground.

“Down here.”  He instructs Keith.  “I don’t have all day.”  He commands. The flying machine lands behind Black, the passengers there looked just as confused.

Keith only glares at Lance, he wasn’t going down.  This seemed stupid and pointless.

“If you’re not gonna listen then I’m gonna start treating you like you’re my nephews who aren’t even ten yet.”  He sassed. Keith rolls his eyes. Lance warned him, he looks at Shiro and with only arm movements instructed him to push Keith off.

He didn’t have to tell Shiro twice.  He’s been wanting to do this since last night.  Screw being an adult, time to get some brotherly justice.  He sneaks behind the pouting Avatar and shoves him off the bison, laughing as Keith shrieks and fell.  Hunk looks down then back at Shiro.

“You didn’t have to shove him that hard.”

“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.”  Shiro said with a smirk. Keith landed and groans in pain.  He looks up at Lance and snarls at him.

“Fine I’m down, what do you want?!”

“No snapping, when an adult speaks you stay quiet.”  He says. Keith gave a dumbfounded look.

“What?”

“When an adult is speaking to you, you stay quiet and listen.”  Lance says. Keith’s mouth dropped. “Are we clear  _ Sweetie _ ?” 

“I-I-”

“Good, now why are you fighting Shiro?”

“You know!”

“No no.  You’ve got to tell me what is going on, just so I’m sure you know.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child!”

“Oh?”  Lance’s tone changed.  “Then why are you acting like one?”  He asks in a very condescending voice.  Keith just glares at him.

“So you’re siding with them?”

“Uh yeah, you messed up.”  Lance nods. “You about went into your Avatar State to hurt Kolivan.  You are obsessing over this woman!”

“I am not!  And you said you’d help me!”

“I am helping you, by making sure you don’t attack people over this!”  Lance snaps. Keith growls at him.

“You’re a liar!  Like usual!”

“I am not lying!  I promised I’d help you, but not at the expense of our allies!”  He points out.

“He shouldn’t hide this from me!”

“You are obsessed!”

“I am not!”

“Just admit it!”

“You can shut up!”  Keith shouts and stomps hard on the ground, causing the ground around everyone to shake violently.  Lance kept his balance and looks at Keith with anger. He walks up to the Avatar and smacks him right in the face, hard.  Keith held his ground but looks at Lance with a mix between anger and confusion.

“GROW THE HELL UP KEITH!”  He snaps. “YOU’RE THE AVATAR, SO ACT LIKE IT!”  That made Keith shut up and look at him, Lance’s glaring turned soft.  He didn’t continue, he just walks back to Black. Keith looks at Shiro who came down during their argument.

Keith just looks at the ground, he didn’t want to look at anyone at the moment.  Shiro didn’t say anything, he knows that Lance can get to Keith in a way no one else can.  Shiro is a bit envious of that, though Keith does listen to him on occasions. He just rebels a lot…

“We camping here tonight?”  Shiro asks Lance, he looks down and nods.

“Seeing as how someone wanted to land so badly.”  He said, noting that Keith tensed a bit. The team sets up quietly, not wanting anymore drama than what has already been played out.

* * *

The sun was starting to set, Shiro watches it while Keith was curled into Black.  The firebender remained silent. Matt, Hunk, and Pidge were talking over the fire.  Just out of shot from the rest of the team.

“I’m worried about him.”  Matt admits.

“Keith?”  Pidge asks, Matt nods.  “He’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”  Matt asks, looking at the Avatar currently curled into a ball, going to an animal for comfort.  He heard his sister sigh. “He looks like a little armadillo trying to hide.”

“He’s upset.”

“I know that, I’m not an idiot.”  Matt sassed, his sister gave him a playful smile.  Hunk looks down at the fire.

“I’ve never seen Keith so upset… the way Shiro and Lance handled it though… makes me believe Keith has acted like this before.”  The group went silent after that. They waited for the tension to die down.

Meanwhile Lance was walking along the cliffside far from their campsite with Coran.  The older man looks at him, knowing that he was beyond stressed.

“You okay?”  He asks. “Ready to head back?”  Lance shook his head, Coran sighs and nods.  “Alright, we can keep walking.”

“I’m getting tired of his attitude.”

“I know.”

“No it’s… it’s more than that.”  Lance says. He sighs and sat on the cliffs edge, looking at the pit below them.  “How is anyone on our team supposed to stand beside him when he acts like this?” He asks.

“Lance.”  Coran sat next to him and rubs his back.  “I have a feeling there’s more to this than simple irritation.”  He says, Lance clenched on the rocks till his hands started to bleed.  He shook his head and sighs.

Coran knew he wasn’t going to get an answer out of Lance, but the look on his face meant he knew what was going on.  Just like what his own son did, bottled everything up and kept it to himself. One of these days Lance is going to explode.

Lance took a deep breath and got up.

“I’m ready to go back.”  He says quietly. Coran nods, following Lance back to camp.

“You know, if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m all ears.”  He tells Lance, the younger boy smiles and nods. Coran pats his shoulder and kept walking.

Everything seemed to be going decently, only problem was the Avatar was being dead quiet.  He didn’t look mad, just sad and confused, like he was about to cry. Shiro looks at him and wonders if maybe the slap did something or Keith was starting to realize his mistakes.  He hopes it’s that.

The night sky rolled in, Matt looks up and back at the fire.

“Time to hit the hay?”

“I guess.”  Shiro said. “I’ll get the tarp down, Lance you can help set up.”

“Yeah yeah.”  Lance walks over and grabs their camping supplies.  Shiro grabs the tarp then heard rustling from the nearby bushes.  He stops dead in his tracks, looking at the plants in paranoia. Was it an ambush?  Theives? Soldiers?

Shiro got his staff out, Coran noticed this and walked beside him.  Staring at the moving bush.

Then an Armadillo Lion walks out, Coran sighs.

“It’s that cat again… I think it’s following us.”  He says, Lance looks over in surprise.

“Kitty?  What’s he doing here?”  He walks over, the others in the group peeking over but not coming close.  Before Lance could walk towards the giant cat, something else comes from the bushes.  The lion looks at the thing it was with, like it was leading them.

Before them came a wobbling human, weak and breathing heavily.  Holding a bloody wound, and shaking like a leaf. Everyone froze at the sight.

“...lp ….e.” .  Dead, sightless eyes look up in their direction.  A weak, kitten voice spoke up. “H-H..elp… me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't I a nice person?


	13. Death of a Tamer

The group was frozen in horror, Narti looks at them with a desperate look.

“Help… me…”  She whimpers.  The group stayed quiet, they could hear the person's breathing next to them.  Narti faints, Shiro panics and ran to her.

“Narti!”  He held her in his arms, looking at the her in horror and confusion.  He looks at the wound between her breast. He lightly touches it with his fingers, blood covered it, but most of it is dry.  He could hear her heavy breathing, knowing she’s in pain.

Everyone began to crowd around her, asking if she was okay and what was wrong.  Coran snaps at them.

“You all give her some space!”  They back away but continue to look at her in shock, covering their mouths and eyes wide.  The large cat leaves Narti’s side and walked to Lance’s side. The waterbender pats the cats head to thank it but didn’t look away from Narti.

Shiro picked her up and looks at everyone in panic.

“She has a burn!”  He says in fear. Everyone jumps at his voice, Hunk runs to his tent and gestures Shiro to follow him.  Shiro got up, holding Narti close, and ran to the tent. Hunk lays his bed down and helped Shiro lay her down.

Her eyes were shut tight, whimpering in pain.  Shiro looks in sadness and tried to talk to her.

“Oh spirits how did this happen?  Was it the attack?” He asks, she didn’t respond.  Hunk lifts her head and put a pillow under her. She makes a mewl and opens her eyes.  She slowly points to her chest, signaling that she was injured. Shiro nods, though she didn’t see it.  “I know.”

She began to mouth out words, squeaking every once in a while.  That kitten voice made it hard to hear, Hunk had to leave.

“... ts… i… r...s.”  She whimpers, Shiro nods.

“I know, I know it hurts.”  He says quietly. Narti closes her eyes again, kept mumbling the same thing.  Shiro crawls out, seeing all of his friends were outside of the tent with the same worried look in their eyes.

“What happened?”  Pidge asks. Shiro shook his head.

“I don’t know.”  He said in sadness.  “We need to help her.”  He sounded desperate.

The team knew only one healer, they all looked at him.  Lance looks at everyone, kind of jumping at their staring.  He sighs and nods, giving in. Mainly because if not Shiro might burst.

“I’ll do it.”  He says. “I’ll need water though.”  He says. Matt nods and ran to Black to get the water pitcher.  Lance walks into the tent and looks at Narti, who was just laying on the ground, trying to rest.

Lance noticed Shiro followed him, he looked worried.

“Shiro, I know you’re scared for her.  But you need to leave me alone with her.”  Shiro gave a sad look. “It’ll be okay, I’m going to help her.  You need to leave.” He says, Shiro nods and slowly left. Matt comes in with a pitcher and leaves Lance alone.

He comes out and saw Shiro was leaning against Black in worry.  The bison trying hard to comfort his friend. The others all looked at him with concern, things really did turn for the worst.

Lance looks at Narti.  He took a deep breath and began to move her hair out of her face and away from the wound.  He takes her braids out and lays it flat against the pillow and bed. Narti opens her eyes and breathes heavily.

Lance got his fingers into the armor and took her shoulder gear off.  He takes some water and used it to cut her shirt down the middle. He removes it and the cloth around her breast to reveal the burn on her chest.

Lance felt a sense of pain coming from inside, brushing his fingers over his own scar.  It looks almost like his, and he hates it. No one should have such an ugly scar.

He bends the water over him and places his hands over the burn, the scar started to glow blue.  Lance closes his eyes and concentrated on healing her. Lance heals her wound and looks at the scar.  Lance smiles at the smooth skin before him, the burn was now nothing but a scar.

“There, you’re healed.”  He said. “Wasn’t so bad.”  He was speaking to her in a soft voice.  Narti was breathing again, her eyes open.

“...i...ur...s…”  She started to squeak.  Lance raised an eyebrow.

“What?”  He asks, holding her wrist.  Trying to comfort her. She kept trying to speak, but it isn’t easy for her as it is for someone like Lance, or anyone for that matter.  She has a hard time forming words, even though she knows them.

“I-I-I…”  She kept trying.  “Huts…”

“Hut…”  Lance stops.  “Hurts… you’re still in pain?”  He asks. Narti nods slowly, Lance looks at her body to see what could possibly be in pain.  He can’t find anything visible, no scars, burns, anything. She looked fine, but her breathing said otherwise.

Lance felt around her body, and pressing lightly till he finds something.  He found a place that made her cough and squeak in pain. He moved water over that area and tried to see what he could find.  He looks at her and was scared. Internal damage.

“Oh no.”  Lance says.  “This is… this is bad.”  He moves water over and attempted to heal her the best he could.  Narti coughs violently. “Shhh, it’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.” He tried to comfort her.

He stops and looks at her.

“Okay, I’m gonna wrap it up.  Hopefully the wrap will help your wound inside.”  He helps her sit up. He wraps her ribcage and breast completely and tight.  Once he got it done he lays her back down. He looks at her with sad eyes.

“You’re gonna be okay.  Just rest, okay?” He asks, Narti didn’t respond, she kept breathing though.  Lance sighs and walks out of the tent, the lion’s head perked up upon seeing him and got up to be by his side.  Shiro saw him out and ran to him.

“Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s resting.”  He says. Shiro gave a worried look, Lance sighs and points to the tent.  “You can go in there, just be careful.”

“Thanks Lance.”  He nods with a soft smile and quickly goes into the tent.  Lance sighs and looks down. The lion notices Lance’s worry and rubs against him.  Lance looks down and smiles at the lion, petting his head.

“Good kitty.”  He kept walking, everyone noticed that he was uncomfortable.  Like something got to him. Coran walks up to him to talk, the lion wrapping his tail around Lance’s side and looks at the older man.  However Lance pets the cat to tell him that it was okay.

“Are you okay?”  He asks, Lance shook his head.

“Coran… I don’t think she’ll make it.”  He whimpers. “Something damaged her on the inside.”

“Like a wound or a broken bone?”

“No.”  He says.  “I don’t know what hurt her.  What damaged her so badly. It’s confusing, I’ve never seen anything like it.”  It was making Lance’s head hurt trying to wrap his head around it all. It’s making him upset, the lion walks around him, trying to comfort the bender.  Lance pets the cat again then started walking away from the group, the lion followed.

Keith stayed curled into the bison, hearing everything Lance just said to Coran.  He looks over at the tent in worry. He knew Shiro had feelings for Narti, the fact that there is a high chance she won’t make it makes Keith upset.  Upset cause Shiro would be sad, and he doesn’t want that.

He wants to go see him, to tell him it will be okay.  But it won’t be, and nothing he says will change the outcome.

Meanwhile Shiro was in the tent, brushing her hair back and letting her rest.  He was quiet the entire time, he jumped a bit when he heard a happy hum. She opens her eyes and blankly stares at nothing.  He looks at her and smiles.

“Hello.”  He says quietly, Narti smiles at his voice.

“-lo.”  She manages.  Shiro pets her bangs away from her head, she closes her eyes and leans into his hand.  Shiro looks at her ear and noticed the charm.

“Nice earring.”  He comments, she chuckles.  Then coughs. Shiro jumps and held her head up to help her get oxygen in her lungs.  She stops and lays down again. “You okay?” He asks.

Narti just looks up and nods.  She reaches for him, he takes her hand and both try to comfort the other.

“You okay?”

“-es… d...ing.”  She squeaks, Shiro blushed then chuckles.

“Darling?  Is that what you’re going to call me?”  He asks, she smiles and nods. “You’re not good at saying it you know.”

“-ut...p.”  She says quietly.  Shiro laughs again.

“Okay okay, I’m sorry.”  He says, giving her a look he knows she will not see.  “You know, I’m surprised you’re talking.” He tells her, she smiles again and brings his hand to her face.  It was kind of comforting for them to be next to one another.

“Lance said you’re going to be okay.  You just need to rest.” He says, she nods and closes her eyes again, drifting back to sleep.  Shiro places a soft kiss on her head and leaves her alone.

He walks out and back to Black and rests against him.  He saw Keith giving him a worried look, but still doesn’t say anything.  The Avatar has been nothing but quiet the entire time. Shiro looks around and doesn’t see Lance anywhere.  He wonders where he ran off too, but ignores it and rests his eyes.

Lance was out of the way into the bush, crying his eyes out.  He can’t save her, he feels like a failure. He buries his face in the lion’s fur and muffled his cries.  The lion turns his head towards Lance’s and licks him. Trying to comfort him.

The rest of the late night was quiet.

* * *

The early morning, the stars were still out, everyone was awake and waiting patiently.  No one really slept. Even if they tried to close their eyes they couldn’t sleep.

Shiro opens the tent where Narti was staying.

“Hey.”  He says, Narti moves a bit.  Shiro sits next to her and brushed her hair out of her face.  Narti opens one eye, then closes. Shiro’s face dropped, she looked weaker.  He kept petting her hair and trying to talk to her. She wouldn’t open her eyes.

She lightly touches his hand, telling him to stop.  He does and held her hand, she didn’t fight it. He rubs her hand with his thumb, hoping that’ll soothe her in some way.  It wasn’t working, she still sounded like she was in pain.

She opens her eyes again and turns her head in Shiro’s direction.

“Finally awake.”  He attempts to tease.  She sighs slightly and nods.  Shiro lets go of her hand.

Narti couldn’t attempt to speak at the moment, she reaches up to her ear and fumbled a bit to get the charm off.  She finally got it unhooked and hands the charm to Shiro, he looks at her with a rather dejected.

“Why are you giving this back?”  He asks. “I-I gave this to you so I can remember to take you to the Air Temples… remember?”  He asks, Narti shook her head. Shiro refused that answer from her. Her giving it back means she was just giving up.

“Come on, you’ll be okay.”  He tells her. She shook her head again.

“H-H…”  She took a deep breath.  “Hurts…” She managed to say.

“I know, but it won’t hurt forever.  You just have to pull through, okay?”

“C-Ca...t...s...rry.”  She says quietly, Shiro shook his head.

“Come on Narti… don’t give up.”  He begs, Narti felt around her clothes Lance took off.  She found her whistle, slowly hands it to Shiro. He took it and looks at it, feeling tears trying to push through.

“Ko...a...helps.”  She squeaks. Shiro shook his head violently.

“No, no you can call Kova.”  He says. “You’ll be fine, please you have to be fine!”  He sounded like he was in pain. Narti shook her head, a soft smile on her face.  She reaches up to touch his face.

“Wi...h...I co-co...d...see...you.”  She says. Shiro held her hand, but he didn’t respond.  She kept smiling and taps against his cheek, a final message.  Then her arm went limp. Shiro held everything back, he leans down to see her face.

A tear fell down her face, but she was smiling.  Shiro puts her arm down and kisses her head. No breathing, no movement, nothing.  Narti was gone.

He walks out of the tent where almost everyone was waiting.  Matt ran up to Shiro to see if everything was okay.

“How is she?”  He asks, Shiro said nothing but pushed past him.  He went to Black and curled up into the creature. He was hiding from everyone.  Coran walks into the tent then back out. He gave the kids around a sad look, he shook his head.

“Narti… has passed.”  He announced. Everyone looks down, knowing this was going to happen.  Keith looks at Shiro, who was closing himself off from the others. The firebender noticed that Lance was still gone.  He was the one who healed her, so what happened?

He got up and went to find him.  He went to the bushes and saw Lance hiding his face in the lion, the cat growls at Keith, telling him to stay away.  Keith jumps back, but the growling made Lance look up at Keith. Before the Avatar said anything Lance spoke up.

“I know.  I know, she’s gone.”  He says. “Just leave me alone.”  Keith looks down and walks back to camp, he sees Matt and Pidge were trying to comfort Shiro while Hunk carries Narti out.  Coran walks to Keith and pats his head, trying to keep him calm. Keith leans against the older man, watching the sad display before him.

He’s seen death, he’s killed, but he’s never seen the other end of it.  Sure he thought he lost Lance and Coran once, but they were okay in the end.  However that isn’t the case, Narti wasn’t coming back, she was gone. Left the world of the living forever.  He felt Coran wrap an arm around his back and grab his other arm. Trapping him in a one armed hug. Keith took it.

After what felt like hours Shiro got up.  He looks at the charm in his hand and looks at the sun barely peeking over the horizon.  He looks at the team with an idea in mind.

“Come on everyone, we’re leaving the Earth Kingdom.”  He says, walking towards Hunk and taking Narti from the larger man.  He airbends onto the bison, everyone looks at one another and nods. The few got on the flying machine while the others got on the bison.  Lance looks at the lion.

“Thank you for everything.”  He says. “I’ll see you later.”  With a final pat on the head Lance climbs onto the bison and the team began to fly away to wherever Shiro was leading them.

* * *

The group flew towards the Southern Air Temples.  The team was very confused, Keith was just terrified.  Hunk crawls up and spoke to Shiro.

“May I ask what we’re doing here?”  He asks, Shiro said nothing but the team landed.  Keith helped the machine behind them land safely on the mountain range.  They hop down, Shiro carrying Narti down.

The team watched him walk to a very dead an empty area.  He looks at the ground then back at his friends.

“Hunk, Pidge… can you help?”  He asks, finally they caught on.  He wants to bury her. Pidge and Hunk nod.  Keith follows.

“Don’t you want a coffin for her?”  She asks. Shiro held the corpse close and thought.  Keith walks up to a rock, using earthbending he compresses it and makes a rock coffin for her.  Pidge and Hunk look over… that was convenient.

The three push it over to Shiro, he places Narti in the coffin and looks at her sadly.  Everyone walks over and surrounds the coffin, being silent, respecting the life that had passed.  Shiro takes out his charm and places it between her closed palms.

“I kept our promise.”  He whispers. Once he was ready everyone backed away.  Keith bends the lid on, Pidge and Hunk created a hole. Slowly the three earthbenders lowered her in.  Then in one arm movement from Pidge, the hole was covered, like nothing was there.

Matt puts a random plant where she was buried.  The group stands there for another moment before they walked away.  Coran suggests to Shiro and the rest of the team that they should rest in the temples for the day, cause not all of them were emotionally ready to go back out.

They all walked to the temples.  Hunk and Pidge walked away to find something, Matt and Coran sat on the outside of the temple and looked at the scenery.  Shiro walked inside the temple to hide away.

Lance walks around the halls of the temple, lost in his own thoughts.

“Lance?”  He heard a quiet voice.  He turns to see a sad Keith looking at the ground.

“Well someone finally decided to speak.”  He says, not trying to sound mean about it.  In fact Lance was glad to hear him talk again.  Keith looks up at him, his violet eyes were somehow bigger.  “What’s the matter?”

He shook his head, Lance saw a few tears falling from his eyes.

“This is horrible.”  He says. Lance says nothing, he knew that everything was horrible.  Keith got a little closer. “Narti is dead, and now Shiro is sad. I don’t like that!”  He says.

“She wasn’t supposed to die!”  He kept crying. Lance held his arms out, Keith walks into his arms and curled up into him.  “I want to tell him that it’ll be okay. But he’s closing himself off and won’t talk to anyone… I-I feel bad.”

“It’s called grief Keith, he just lost someone he loved.”  He said, wrapping his arms around his body. “You know how it feels, to lose someone important to you.  Just give him some time, he’ll be okay after a while.” Keith rests his hands on his shoulders and nuzzles his head under Lance’s chin.

The two stood in the hallway for a while, in silence, finding comfort in the other's presence.  Lance lets go and gave the Avatar a squeeze on his arms.

“He’ll be okay Sweetie.”  He reassures. Keith nods, Lance smiles and walks away from him.  Keith walks to his room and relaxes. It was a long night, and now an even longer morning.  He can’t even rest his eyes, sleep won’t consume him. He doesn’t know how long he was laying there awake when he heard someone knock at his door.  He saw Pidge there.

He gestures his head as to tell her to come in.  She does and knelt down next to him, Keith sat up on his elbows and stares at her.

“Hey buddy.”  She says. “Heard you got a little emotional, you okay?”

“Fine.”  He mutters.  She nods and looks to the side.  “Hunk and I are going to give Narti one last gift, if you want to say one last goodbye to her.”  She says, Keith sighs and got up.

Pidge held his hand, he returns it by holding on tightly.  The two walk down the hallway together, Keith notices Shiro’s door was open.  Lance was in there, hugging him as the older man gripped onto him like life support, whimpering like a pained animal.

Keith slowly looks back at the ground, he didn’t want to see that.  They made it outside where Hunk was waiting, holding a stone object in his arms.  It had a symbol on the stone, but Hunk’s arms were covering most of it.

“Finally, come on.”  He walks ahead of the two, the three made it down to where Narti now lays.  Hunk walks over and stuck the stone in the ground, making sure it stays in place he backs away and looks at the stone.  Keith could finally read it, his eyes skimming down.

It was her name.  Keith’s grip tightens on Pidge’s hand and the three just stare at the grave together.  Pidge finally spoke up, hurt in her voice.

“Goodbye sneaky blind girl, we’ll miss you.”  She said, Hunk nods.

“Once apart of Team Keith, always apart of it.”  He says. The two look at Keith, he said nothing, he didn’t know what to say.  However without words he gave her his thanks, and his respect. An honor anyone would love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye to one ally


	14. Trouble in a Metal Box

The group stayed at the temples for another day, due to them being tired.  They left after that, back into the Earth Kingdom and wondering what they should do now.  Shiro has started talking to everyone again, due to Lance comforting him. Coran came in at one point and told him a story about spirits and giving Shiro some piece of mind.

The group didn’t know where to go, but soon they’ll land soon.  Once they land they’ll think of something to do.

* * *

Lotor was sitting in a well guarded room.  No one trusted him so they all kept a close eye on him, Honerva refused to kill him, but she’d leave that decision up to her husband.  He was told that they’d return to the Fire Nation soon, but first they must deal with the Avatar. Either he goes down, or his friends do.

Lotor sits in the room in shame, remembering what had happened after Narti ran away.  As soon as she was gone Zethrid ran up and pins Lotor’s arms behind his back. Both Ezor and Acxa held fire up against him, he had no way to defend himself.  His own generals, his friends, the girls he trusted, turned on him in a matter of seconds. 

Now he was stuck in a random room, waiting for death.  No denying it now, Zarkon was going to have him killed.  He was going to be murdered in front of the entire court, labeled a traitor, made a mockery of, hell he wouldn’t be surprised if they threw his corpse in the oceans.

He looks out the small opening he had in his cell, seeing Honerva talking to some soldiers.

“Now listen, I don’t care if you come back with the Avatar or one of his merry men.  Just take one and bring them back here. One way or another we’re getting the Avatar.  Are we clear?” She asks, they all bow.

“Yes Ma’am.”  They say. She gives one glare and leaves the soldiers, they walk off to start their next attack.  Lotor slides on the floor and looks down in shame, he won’t be able to help them now. But at least Narti managed to escape, hopefully she warned them about Honerva.

* * *

The team landed near the ocean, with a huge forest next to them.  Coran walks into the forest with Keith to find some food or supplies.  Lance hung out with Pidge and Hunk, and Matt and Shiro leaned against Black and talked.  So everyone was in their little groups just hanging out. 

After a bit Pidge jumps up and stretches till her back cracked.  She seemed satisfied with that and looks down at her two guy friends who were talking casually.

“So… you guys wanna go hang out?  Maybe explore? Cause some mischief?”  She asks. Lance nods.

“Heck yeah!”

“Uh okay, playing the voice of reason, again.”  Hunk adds on. “Whenever we go out, mainly you two, something bad happens.”

“Not our fault.”  Lance said in an offended voice.  “Plus we don’t always get into trouble.”  He says. Hunk raised an eyebrow, Lance saw that and pouts.  “Come on, let’s go.” The three got up and walked off.

Matt and Shiro watch them leave but said nothing.  They’ll be fine, they’re nowhere near the Fire Nation base.

* * *

Coran had filled one basket with fruit and other things he decided to take.  Keith was carving a branch smooth. He spins it around to see if it works and it won’t break.  When it passed he kept smoothing it out. Coran looks at the firebender and had to ask.

“What are you making?”

“Hm?”  Keith looks up at Coran.  “Oh! Matt broke his staff during our last fight.  So I thought I could make him a new one.” He held it up, showing the non bender his little creation.  Coran takes it and looks over it.

“I think you should smooth it out right here, but besides that it looks good.”  He says. Keith looks at the spot, he began to cut it again to smooth it out. He spins it again and thought it was good.

He walks back with it in his hands, excited to show Matt the new staff.  Coran was impressed by it as well. It was pretty well made, and seems to take Keith’s powerful airbending, so it might be good enough to fight with.

* * *

The three walked around the plains area, it was close to the forest and nice looking.  Lance has never really seen this area of the Earth Kingdom. Hunk pets Yellow as they looked around the area.

“I should ask… why don’t you ever bring Green?”  He asks Pidge.

“I don’t need to bring my giant shirshu everywhere.”  She tells him. “Trust me, when something bad happens she’ll come charging.”  Pidge reassures him. “She’s my protector, but she knows I can take care of myself.”

“It’s easier to bring your friend everywhere.”  Lance points out. Hunk nods and pets Yellow.

“Yeah, he’s my best buddy.  Comes with me, even when it’s the heat of battle.”  The fluffy cat purrs. Lance chuckles and kept walking by the water.

“Hey, race you guys to the tree over there!”  He yells and starts running. Pidge screeches and runs.  Hunk does not run, his body is not made for running unless he’s in danger.  Pidge began to bend and made an earthwave to drive past Lance.

Lance yelps and hops on her back to keep up.  Before she got on the tree he jumps to the tree and laughs at her.  She hops on him, the two fell off the tree. Both laughing on the ground.

“Get off of me!”  Pidge says, trying to push Lance off of her.  He wiggles a bit and smirks, getting comfortable.  “No, no no no you are heavy! Get off!”

“Nah~”  The two participated in probably the worlds lamest fight, Pidge wiggling to get free while Lance did nothing but lay on her.  Hunk chuckles and kept walking up to his friends, enjoying the calm after the storm.

Then Hunk looks and stops, he sees something peeking from the forest.  Before he could say anything to his two unaware friends, that something came out and captured them both.  The two both screamed and looked at their captors. Soldiers, damn they do not give up.

Both of their hands were forced behind their backs, Pidge was lifted in the air to prevent her from bending.  Lance tried moving his waist or his legs to get the water to follow him. The soldier holding him twisted his wrist, causing Lance to yelp in pain and stop.

Another soldier comes out and noticed Hunk was watching in fear.  The earthbender sent a massive rock at the soldiers. The group backed far away, the free soldier firebends at Hunk quickly.  Hunk creates a shield of earth to prevent getting burnt, but as the wall of earth went down his friends, as well as the soldiers, were gone.

“Oh no.”  He looks at Yellow, then ran to the rest of the team to tell them what had just happened.

* * *

“Let us go!  Let us go!” Pidge kept struggling.  Lance growls and tried kicking the soldier behind him, another twist caused him to stop.

“What do you plan to do with us?!”  He asks in anger. The soldier said nothing, instead they lead them to a woman standing before them, black hair tipped red, bright blue eyes, and an impish grin.  Lance felt fear.

“Oooh we caught ourselves some merry men~”  Ezor shouts. She noticed Lance and squeals.  “Oh spirits! You caught the cute one on their team!”

“End me now.”  He says to the soldier.  Ezor hops down and looks at the two.

“Fair Lady Honerva will be quite happy with our catch.  Hopefully the Avatar will come running for you two.”

“You’re trying to catch Keith?!”  Pidge asks in anger. “You black hearted heathen!  Free us!”

“Nope.  Now into the dungeon they go~”  She sings. Pidge growls, Lance looks down in anger.  They both knew that if Hunk got to the team they’d all run after them.  Keith was no exception.

* * *

Keith and Coran come back happily with supplies.

“Salutations!”

“Hey welcome back you two.”  Shiro said with a smile. Keith runs over to Matt excitedly and held out the staff.  Matt looks at it with confusion.

“Uh…”

“It’s a staff!”  Keith said like an excited child showing their family a project they made in school.  “I made it for you, since yours broke during our last battle.” He says, Matt raised a brow.  He slowly took it from Keith and examined it, it looked nice.

He stood up and started doing attacks with it, way more skilled than Keith was with it that’s for sure.  Matt stops and looks at the staff happily.

“I love it!”  He says happily, he gives Keith a big hug.  “Thanks Keith!”

“Uh… n-no problem.”  Keith pats Matt’s back lightly.  Matt lets go and kept spinning the staff around.  Shiro chuckling at his friends goofy behavior. Keith could still see the bags under Shiro’s eyes.  He was still grieving, he wonders if Shiro will ever get better.

Keith sat next to Shiro and leans his head on his shoulder, Shiro smiles and pats Keith’s head.

“Hey Keith.”

“You okay?”  Keith asks. Shiro’s smile faded and he looked at the ground.

“Yeah… yeah I’m okay.”  He says. Keith nuzzles into his shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Just so you know… I may not be good at comforting, but I’m a good listener.”  He says, Shiro chuckles a bit and wrapped an arm around Keith.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  He says, Keith smiles and lets himself be held by Shiro.  It was nice not to be in a fight anymore. Coran was brawling with Matt, testing the new staff.  All in all it was peaceful.

Till Hunk ran in and looked at the four in a panic.

“Guys-Guys!  I-I-  _ phew _ … out of breath.”  He says. Coran looks at the larger boy and walks up to him, the others follow.

“Spirits Hunk, what has happened?  And where’s Pidge and Lance?”

“They-They.”

“I swear, don’t tell me they got caught.”  Matt says. Hunk kept quiet after that. “They got caught, didn’t they.”  Silence. “Dammit Katie.” He hisses under his breath.

Shiro and Keith both got to Hunk.

“Who caught them?”

“Fire Nation soldiers.  I don’t know where they went but I’m sure we can still catch up with them.”  He says. The group nods. Hunk joins Keith and Shiro on Black. Matt hops on Green, Coran right behind him, the team rides off, going wherever Hunk leads them.

* * *

The two were in a large metal box that was wobbling with the carriage that carried them.  The box prevented Pidge from feeling the earth while Lance couldn’t feel any water around him, and he couldn’t cut the metal with the little amount he had in his sack.  Also the two were in each others personal space and they weren’t happy about that.

“Why am I always stuck with you, useless waterbender.”

“Ow.”  Lance whines.  “I am right here ya know.”  The wobbling increased, Pidge fell against Lance as the two swayed.  Pidge grumbles again.

“This sucks, I want out, I want to be free.”

“Don’t worry, the others will come get us… and probably scold us.”

“I want to be free now.”

“Patience.”  Lance says. “I remember being trapped on a pirate ship and having to wait, this is not that different.”  He tells her, she raised an eyebrow.

“How much trouble did you get in?”

“Before meeting you?  Not much.” Lance comments.  The box wobbles again, Lance held onto Pidge in a protective hug.  He didn’t like the violent rocking, someone could get hurt in this damn thing.

Pidge pouts and leans against Lance.

“I want out.”

“Wow, anything else to add?”  He asks sarcastically. She elbows him.  “OW! Okay, you find a way out!”

“Why me?”

“Cause you want to leave so badly, also I’m apparently a useless waterbender.  So you find a way out.”

“Okay okay, jeez you’re worse than Matt.”  She says and felt around her, she sighs. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“No, I can’t bend.  I can’t feel the earth beneath me.”  Pidge says. “That’s the only way I can bend, is if I feel it!”

“Is this why you don’t wear shoes?”

“Yes!  I learned to feel the earth around me, I need to feel it.”  She looks down in sadness. “I don’t feel it.”

“It’s okay Pidge.”  Lance says. “You don’t have to get us out of here, we can wait for your brother, and everyone else.”

“I just feel so useless!”  She says. “I’m supposed to be the strong earthbender and I can’t even get out of a metal box.”

“Oh and I’m not useless?”  Lance asks with a chuckle. “Honey I am a master waterbender trapped in a metal box, and we’re near the ocean!”  He says, both of them began to laugh at that. “You’re right, I am useless!”

“Well so am I!”  The two laughed for a few minutes, Pidge wipes a tear from her eye and looks around the box.  “Maybe I can try to bend the earth beneath us.”

“Okay, but don’t push yourself.  If you can’t do it then you can’t do it.”  He tells her, she rolls her eyes. Pidge got down on the ground and tries to feel the earth around her.  She got a bit of a feeling and tried to bend, however a bump in the path caused her to lose focus.

She growls, Lance looks at her frustrated state and tried to calm her down.

“Pidge, it’s okay.  Calm down.” He says.  Pidge glares at him, then another bump.  She got pissed off due to that. “Pidge, deep breath.  Focus, you got this.” He tells her, she looks at him, then nods.

She took a deep breath and felt the earth around her, somehow she was feeling it all around.  It was amazing, and it was growing stronger. She tried to keep her focus, even through the bumps and rocking.  Pidge inhales, a signal for Lance to brace himself.

Then Pidge lunges forward, arms pushed forward, then the metal door bursts off.  Startling both the soldiers and the two in the box.

“Whoops.”  Was all she could say.  Lance looks at the door, mouth hung open.

“You-How did you do that?!”  He asks, before she could answer the soldiers came out and were ready to attack her.

“How did you do that?!”  Ezor snaps. “Men, kill her!”  She orders. Lance quickly bends water at them to keep them away.  Pidge looks at the metal door, she tried reaching for it but Ezor tackles her down, she looked nuts.  Ezor lit her hand with the blue flame and burnt Pidges side, the small girl screams in pain.

She had enough strength to punch the general square in the face.  Ezor lets go and held her face in pain, before she could retaliate Pidge kicks her stomach.  Ezor topples over. The general tried getting her again, bending at her with a blue whip.

Pidge slams her arm against the door, it molds to it perfectly, making a gauntlet.  She blocks Ezor’s attack and launched herself at her. Pidge punched at her again with the new metal arm, striking her face and her ribcage.  A final kick to the hip and Ezor was out of the fight, Lance froze the other two soldiers and grabs Pidge’s arm.

“We have to hurry, before they break out.”

“Right.”  She releases the metal and runs with Lance back to where there team was.

* * *

The group stops when they hear footsteps coming towards them, they all got ready to attack, when all of a sudden Lance and Pidge appear.  The two smile at the team, they all sigh in relief.

“We cannot leave you two alone!”  Keith scolds. “You hear me? Never!”

“Hey we had Hunk.”  Lance points out.

“I couldn’t save you two.”

“You didn’t even try!”  Pidge says. “Seriously the only way you’ll attack is if your cat is in danger- G-Green no!”  She was tackled by her shirshu. Lance laughs at her.

“Don’t laugh, you’re in trouble too.”

“Hey us getting caught was a good experience.”  Lance points out. “I mean, Pidge is strong enough to bend a metal door off.”  Everyone gasps.

“Pidge, you can bend metal?!”  Hunk asks. Pidge looks down and nods.

“I-I think so.”

“Prove it, bend my snakes!”  Coran launches a snake at her, Pidge panics and bends at it, causing the snake to bend upwards, everyone stares.  “By the spirits… you can bend metal! You’re a rare metalbender!”

“I-I can metalbend… I can metalbend!”  She cheers and hugs Lance. He spun her around happily, Hunk runs over and cheers with her.  Matt takes his sister from them and hugs her tightly.

“I’m so proud of you.”  He tells her. She gave him a smug smile.

“You’ve got the coolest baby sister around.”

“I do!”  He lifts her up, just like Lance did, and spun around.  “My baby sister is the coolest!” The Holts laugh. The whole group smiles, then Coran looks out at the water.

“Is that a ship?  Where is it going?”  He asks, Lance looks at it and squints.

“It’s a Fire Nation prisoner ship.”  He says. “Small though, probably only has one prisoner…”  The whole group looks at it. “Can’t see who it is though…”

They all stared at the boat, Keith closed his eyes.  He walks to the water and felt in it, thinking of the boat.  Maybe… just maybe… he can see it. He felt the water around it, the noise the boat was making, and a figure.  His eyes snapped open, the light fading away back to his purple color. Everyone backed away as he gasped.

“Lotor…”

“Lotor is there?”  Shiro asked. “You sure?”

“I am.”  He nods. Shiro looks at the boat with fear.  The Avatar couldn't tell what was happening or what was going on.  But Lotor was on a ship as a prisoner.  Does that mean he's turning against the Fire Nation.  Now that he thinks about it... Lotor hasn't been attacking as of late.  And Narti... she delivered the plans but there was no way she could've wrote that letter.  Oh no...  Keith felt some strange urge to go after the boat.  That urge came up when he was already running on the water after it.  The team calling for him.

“Keith come back!”  Pidge screams.

“Don’t be an idiot!”  Lance yells. “Come back here!”  Before he could run after him Shiro held him back.  Lance glares at the older man, he shook his head. Keith wanted to go get him then so be it.  Also it’s a small ship so no way was Keith going to be in danger.

They think that as Keith held onto the bottom of the ship.  His head bobbed out as he waited for the boat to land, wherever it was heading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... bye Keith.


	15. A New Ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry the chapter took too long, I really needed a break. I've been playing a lot of Fire Emblem and sleeping a lot too. Also this next season is gonna own me, like Shiro has a fiancee, my babies are smol, and shit it's gonna be thirteen episodes! My body is not ready! Anyways enjoy the chapter

Keith bobs his head out when he sees they landed, he was exhausted and most likely never wants to swim again.  He hears orders and people yelling. He looks up and gasps… he was home. The Fire Nation.

Lotor was lead out by soldiers, Keith hops onto land, ignoring his sore muscles who want to disobey his command.  He pushed his bangs out of his face and looks around… has his hair gotten longer since he started traveling?

No time for that…  He runs to a nearby building and hides, he dries himself with airbending and looks around to see where they were going.  Lotor was lead onto another cell now being carried on land.

“Take him to the capitol.  Fire Lord Zarkon will decide his punishment.”

“Yes sir.”  The soldiers leave one another.  Keith froze. Zarkon? Spirits he was gonna kill Lotor.  Keith waits for an opportunity to run after the carriage.  Moment approaches, he bolts. People didn’t really pay much attention, probably thought he was a soldier who forgot to change. 

He hisses in pain when he realizes he lost his shoes while swimming here.  Great… now he’s barefoot. He ran faster and caught up with the carriage. He latched onto it and waited for it to stop at any nearby town or village.  This won’t take as long as the ocean, which he is grateful for.

* * *

“So I run off and he gives me a hard time, but when he does it, it’s fine.”  Lance was pacing back and forth, complaining. “Oh when he comes back I’m gonna rip him a new one, just you wait and see.”  He growls.

Everyone was silently watching or ignoring, Lance has been doing this since Keith ran off yesterday.  Hunk made breakfast and hands everyone a bowl of rice.

“Lance, why don’t you sit down.”

“Uh no, we should be going after that lunatic!”  He shouts.

“We will, but we can’t just charge after them.  They’re probably in the Fire Nation, we’d stand out.”

“But-”

“Keith is a nomad there, he’ll blend in, don’t worry about it.”  Shiro says.

“Don’t worry about it?!”  He asks. “Ha, okay, don’t worry about it.  I’ll just sit here and not worry about Keith who just ran off towards enemy lines.  Yeah I won’t worry at all!”

“Lance please.”  Matt tried to calm him down.  “He’s the Avatar, you know better than anyone else what he’s capable of.”

“You zip it.”  Lance sasses. “I know how amazing he is, but that’s not the point.  Right now he was a huge idiot who ran away!”

“And he’ll be fine, like what Shiro said.”

“No, no it is not fine!”  Lance argues. “I love that boy but seriously, he acts before he thinks.”

“Yep, that sounds like our Keith.”  Hunk says, Coran laughs at that. Pidge rolls her eyes and practices her metalbending.

* * *

The carriage stops, Keith opens his eyes.  He must’ve fallen asleep. He looks around, another base.  These things are probably everywhere in the Fire Nation. Keith waits for an opportunity to get Lotor out of the cell, finally the soldiers walked away, ordering others to feed the rhinos that pulled the cell along.  Keith watches their feet walk away.

He got out from under the carriage and looks around, no one.  He tries to unlock the door, no such luck. He hears soldiers coming back.  Keith jumps and hid on the other side of the carriage. They opened the door.

“Alright, out.  We’re sending you to another cell.”  A soldier said. Lotor obediently walks out of the cell.  Keith saw where the soldiers were standing. He got up from his spot and earthbends at their feet, knocking them down and creating an earth dome around them.  The soldiers started knocking at the earth, demanding they be free.

Lotor looks at the wall in slight surprise, then turns over to see Keith in a position where he’d be able to do that.  Lotor just stares at him.

“Avatar.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”  Keith said, Lotor nods.

“Right.”  The two run up to the rhinos.  Keith bends the cuffs off and the two free one rhino.  Lotor hops on, Keith behind him. The two ride away, but it was never that easy.  As soon as they started running soldiers came after them.

“I don’t suppose there is more to your plan?”

“I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

“ _ Oh lovely. _ ”  Lotor said sarcastically.  “Guess we wing it?”

“Sounds like a plan to me!”  Keith saw the soldiers started shooting arrows, Keith airbends them away.  “Faster!”

“I’m going as fast as the rhino is going!”  He hissed. The soldiers were coming in by the masses, Keith lifts one arm, causing a massive wall to push a few soldiers up and off the ground.  Most of the men and rhinos toppled over, but a good number of them are still hot on their tail.

“We need a better plan then just bending at them.”

“What do you suggest?”  Keith asks, Lotor answers it by taking a sharp turn right and trying to maneuver through the trees.  The soldiers still after them.

“I dunno!  We’ll be lucky to make it out!”  Lotor says. “Where’s everyone else?”

“In the Earth Kingdom.”  Keith said.

“What, you swam here?!”

“Kind of…”  Keith airbends more arrows away.  “I mainly clung to the side of the boat.”

“You are going to give your friends a heart attack.”

“Wouldn’t be the first ti-EEK!”  A fireball above his head. “We have benders on us!”

“I see that!”  Lotor orders the rhino to move faster, They go over a few puddles that were most likely caused by rain, Keith was asleep for most of the ride there so he doesn’t know.  “Once we get over these puddles, lightningbend at them!”

“What?”

“It’ll electrocute the soldiers and they’ll stop!”

“But… But I can’t lightningbend!”  Keith tells him. Lotor gave him a look.

“Some Avatar you are!”  He sasses. “Okay watch out!”  Keith clung to Lotor as the prince swiveled his body around.  He held his arm out and waited for the soldiers to step on the puddles, once on he sent a powerful strike of lightning.

Keith clung tighter as the lightning barely missed him.  He heard loud screams, looking back with one eye open he sees soldiers lying dead on the ground with their rhinos.  Keith held his mouth, more death…

He hates this damn war, making both him and Lotor kill their own people.  He could see Lotor’s face, it was almost the same, he hated this as well. They kept riding until the rhino was out of it.  The two continued on foot.

It was kind of awkward, the two didn’t speak, they didn’t even make eye contact.  For almost a season Keith was being hunted by this guy, now here they are, working together.  Keith felt very uncomfortable, but he ran after him, he wanted to save him.

Lotor didn’t seem too bothered by this, well Keith wouldn’t know for sure, Lotor was good at hiding his expressions.  The two kept walking through the Fire Nation, hoping not to be spotted and hopefully they get to the ocean.

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached the ocean, and not to anyone’s surprise- soldiers were there.  Keith and Lotor hid behind the pile of rocks that surround the beaches, trying to come up with a plan.

“What do you suppose we do?”  Keith asks.

“I cannot be for sure, but we must make it to the water.  You can get us across, right?”

“I can, but it won’t be safe.  And I need to get you across… our best option is for me to create a bubble.  But I won’t be able to do that when there are at least a hundred soldiers out there.”  Keith says. Lotor nods and looks at the soldiers who were moving around.

“We have no choice but to attack.  They are staying up from the looks of it, and they have claimed the entire beach.”  He says. Keith silently curses to himself and looks at Lotor.

“We just need to get to the water, once I’m there I can create a bubble.  But Lotor, I need you to do one thing for me.” Lotor looks at him. “I cannot go into my Avatar State, if I do I will pass out.  So cover me while I try to reach the water.” Lotor doesn’t hesitate to nod.

“Got it.”  The two look at each other for a moment before they start there oh so brilliant plan.  Keith got up and earthbends at the soldiers, causing them to all fall over and topple in panic.  Once the panic started both boys made a break for the water, if only life were this simple.

One soldier managed to firebend at Lotor, the prince yelps and looks over at the soldier.  He firebends back, thus Keith had to help out since everyone else was surrounding the two. Keith airbends them away, trying to find an opening to the water.  But he needed Lotor too… this was not going well at all.

Benders and non benders surrounded the two and were showing no mercy, but Keith and Lotor didn’t back off either.  Lotor lightningbends at the many before him, Keith kept using everything he knew just to avoid getting stabbed in the head by a random sword.

Keith hits his arm against the ground and created a gauntlet and started punching soldiers around him, also using it to block any sword or arrow attacks.  He launched the rock at a soldier coming at Lotor from behind. More came from out of nowhere.

“You traitor!”  One soldier yells at Lotor.  “Our own prince, son of Zarkon, now working with the Avatar!  You’re both traitors to your own home!”

“My father is to blame for this!”  Lotor shouts. “He took the lives of many, including his own friends, he even turned against Trigel!”  He snaps. “He is the real traitor!” Lightning shout out of his hands and electrocutes the many before him.  Keith stomps hard on the ground and launched a few soldiers high, one managed to knock him in the back with an arrow.

He yells in pain but quickly took the arrow out.  He used water from the ocean and swept the archers into the water.  They tried to swim back. Keith was too distracted by them that he didn’t notice a swordsman running at him.  He turns and looks, then a loud scream came from him.

Lotor firebends the soldiers around him away and looks at the Avatar.  Keith was kneeling on the ground, holding his face in pain. In front of him was a dead swordsman.  Lotor noticed blood trickling down from his chin.

More soldiers were coming, Keith got up and airbends them away, Lotor noticed Keith’s face.  A large scar on his right cheek, still gushing out blood. Lotor felt anger boil over him, reminding him of his own scar.  He sent a massive bolt of lightning at oncoming soldiers, Keith jumps at that, Lotor looks at him.

“Water, now!”  He shouts, Keith nods and ran to the water.  He focused on the water, and not on his bleeding face.

“Lotor, come on!”  He calls, Lotor steps away from the new patch of soldiers coming and Keith creates a bubble around them, then they sunk into the water.  No way could anyone attack them when they were several feet below the water.

Keith focused on travelling back to the Earth Kingdom.  Lotor noticed the blood coming from his face, as well as his back.  Soaking through his clothes. Lotor takes his hair tie out and lets his white hair fall.

“I am so sorry.”

“About what?”

“You’re hurt.”  He says, Keith sighs.

“How about you apologize for hurting me before?”  He sounded very unfazed and unaffected by Lotor’s words.  “Your words mean nothing. Only actions can speak for you now.”  Keith kept steering the bubble underwater. Lotor looks out and back at Keith’s scar.

“Can you get that fixed?”

“I don’t know.”  Keith lifts one hand and brushes against the scar, he flinched at the contact.  He pulls his hand away, blood coated his finder tips. He sighs and kept looking forward.

Lotor sat next to Keith and watches the water slowly go by.

“I hope you can heal that.”

“It’s not a big deal.”  Keith brushes his bangs out of his face and kept steering.  “Besides, scars happen. It’s the consequence of war.”

“No it’s not.”  Lotor said quietly.  Keith looks at him with a questioned look.  Lotor sighs and brushes the makeup caked onto his cheek off.  Keith slightly gasps at that. The large burn looked horrid, it stood out on his tan skin.  Lotor looks down, shame consumes him.

“I got this from my father.  I spoke out of turn, this was my punishment.  After that… he banished me. The only way I could ever come home was if I caught you… but that was only after he discovered you.  Before then… well before then, I had no choice but to travel alone. I could not ever return home.”

Keith felt bad, hearing all of this from Lotor.  A guy he thought was just a horrid man, someone who wanted nothing more than to see the Avatar suffer.  He wasn’t bad at all, in fact, he had it worse.

“Scars ruin someone’s beauty.  In my personal opinion that is… the larger the scar, the uglier you are.  I am no exception to that rule.”

“That doesn’t define someone’s beauty and worth.”  Keith points out. “Look at my friends. They aren’t hideous, and two of them have noticeable scars on their faces, they think nothing of them.”  Referring to Matt and Shiro.

“What about the other one.  I’m sure he feels the same way as I do.”  Lotor points out, Keith glares at him.

“If you’re talking about Lance I will end you.”  He threatens, Lotor said nothing. Keith slowly looks back outside.  “He isn’t ugly at all.”

“I know it’s not as noticable, but you cannot tell me it’s beautiful.  Lance probably feels the same way, he must think little of himself now that he-”

“Shut up.”  Keith cuts him off.  “That scar is just another part of him, another part I love.  Now do yourself a favor and do not speak of him like he is damaged.  Cause he is far from that. Got it?” He sounded very upset, Lotor sighs then grew a soft smile.

“I see.”  He lays down.  “Sorry I spoke of him like that.”  Keith said nothing, only focused on getting to shore.  The two sat in silence, that conversation made the Avatar testy, Lotor does not want to push his luck with the one keeping him alive at the moment.

The blood on Keith dried and it looked awful, Lotor wish he had wiped it off or something, not let it dry on his skin.

The shore comes into view later that night, Keith smiles and slowly approaches.  The two landed, Keith land Lotor gasp as soon as they hit dry land.  It was dark out, with no one else in sight. Keith looks around and groans.

“Shit… they’re not at this shoreline.”

“So what now?”

“We look for them, obviously.”

“I think we should rest.”  Lotor points out. “We can rest here for the night.”

“But I need to find my friends.  I’m sure they’re worried about me.”

“I’m sure they are, but we can’t do anything now.  We’ll only tire ourselves out more. You have done a lot, so we should rest and look for them in the morning.”  He says, Keith hates to admit it, but Lotor is right. Keith is exhausted, he pouts and flops onto the ground.

Lotor smiles at Keith’s behavior and lays down as well.  Keith passed out in a few minutes, Lotor slowly drifts off, hopefully tomorrow they’ll find the others.

* * *

Lotor wakes up to the sun shining above him, he groans and rubs the sleep out of his eyes.  He looks over and sees Keith is already awake, meditating. He leans on his side, keeping his upper body up by his hands.

“What are you doing Keith?”

“I’m trying to connect to the Spirit World, maybe they can help us find my friends.”  He tells the prince, Lotor rolls his eyes, that sounded near impossible. The two sat in silence, Keith was almost connected but something bumping into his side caused him to lose focus.  “Lotor!”

“Uh… help?”  Lotor points at the large cat growling at him.  Keith looks at it and walks up to the large animal.

“Wait… Kitty?”  He asks, the animal turns it’s head, without a doubt it’s the armadillo lion.  Looking right at Keith, then it went back to growling at Lotor.

“What does this thing have against me?”

“He attacks anyone from the Fire Nation.”  Keith points out. “He mostly listens to Lance, I don’t know why… but this creature has taken a liking to him.”

“Can you tell it that I won’t hurt you?”

“I can try.  Kitty!” Keith calls, the cat slowly turns his head to Keith.  “Knock it off, he won’t hurt anyone. He’s my friend.” He says, the cat went back to growling.  “Okay scratch that, he only listens to Lance.”

“Lovely… I’m going to die.”  He says in a rather sarcastic voice.  Keith looks at the cat then got an idea, this thing seems to be following the team, so…

“Kitty, can you take me to my friends?”  He asks, the large cat looks at him. “You know, the people I’m around.  Like Lance, can you take me to Lance?” Keith asked the cat again. The lion looks at Lotor, then began to walk left.  It stopped and waited for Keith and Lotor to follow.

“Wait, are we actually going to follow that thing?”

“Uh huh.”  He says. Lotor groans, is the team this unorganized and free spirited that they’ll follow a wild animal?  He hopes not.

* * *

The team puts the fire out after breakfast, Shiro looks at Lance who was sitting impatiently, his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing.  Shiro sighs and walks up to him and sat next to him.

“Everything okay?”

“You tell me.”  He hissed. Pidge walks into camp with Coran, they were scouting along the beach.

“No sign of him yet.”  Pidge says, Lance groans.  “Oh calm down, I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Patience my boy, everything will be alright in the end.”

“We should’ve gone after him!”  Lance says in anger. “But of course, no one listens to me.”  He pouts. Hunk sighs.

“How about we go after them tonight?”

“Oh great, he’ll be dead by that point.”  He says. Shiro gave up, nothing was going to make Lance happy.  The day was slow for them, mainly because they were sitting around doing nothing.  No one was even practicing or anything like that, they mainly sat around or goofed off.

Shiro played with the grappling hook, he caught it on a random branch and was launched somewhere.  Matt watched and laughed at him. Pidge was playing a guessing game with Green, the shirshu was getting annoyed because Pidge was not allowing her to sniff the items.  Hunk was looking through all their snacks and was flipping through Keith’s drawings, he wasn’t there to protect them so take advantage of this glorious opportunity. Coran was working on a new version of his snakes, hoping to get it ready before the war.  And then Lance was just sitting on the ground next to Black, worried.

As the sun set the team began to pack up and go after Keith, before launch they heard rustling from the bushes.  The team looks over, the lion pops out. Coran points at it accusingly.

“SEE?!  IT’S FOLLOWING US!”

“I see that Coran.”  Shiro says in a rather tired voice.  It walked over to Lance and rubs against him.

“Hey Kitty, what’s going on?”  Lance asks as he pets the lions head.  Then two figures walk out, Lotor and Keith.  The whole group froze… he was okay. Keith walks up to his friends slowly, knowing that they were not happy with him.  Lotor right behind him.

“Uh… I’m back.”  He says awkwardly.

“You’re okay.”  Shiro said. “Thank the spirits.”

“Yeah-”

“What happened to you?!”  Lance freaks out, everyone jumps back.  Lance grabs Keith’s face and took a closer look at him.  “You have blood on your face-is that a scar?! Oh spirits Keith it looks horrible!”

“I’m fine Lance.”

“No you’re not!  Oh jeez, let me heal it.”

“Lance please.”  Keith chuckles. “I’m okay, really.”

“Sweetie…”  Lance sighs.  “At least wash the blood off.”  Lance moves water up to the scar and wipes the blood away, seeing the perfect scar.  “Are you sure I shouldn’t heal it?”

“It’s fine Lance, I’m not dying.”  Keith says.

“You can heal the arrow wound on his back though.”  Lotor the tattletail spoke up. Keith glares at the prince, jerk, now Lance was going to fuss over it.  He took his top off and showed his back to the waterbender. A blade certainly stabbed him, making a small hole in his skin, dried up blood around it.

“Yeah, I’m healing that.”

“Whatever.”  Keith sighs. Lance moves the water up to his back and heals the scar.  He made sure it was fully healed before he backed away from it. Keith looks back.  “Happy?” He asks.

Lance leans into Keith’s back, putting his hands on his shoulders and resting his head on the Avatar’s neck.  Keith smiles at that answer and leans back into Lance. Enjoying the attention he was getting.

Lotor looks at the team and raised an eyebrow.

“Where’s Narti?  I’m sure she would’ve found you all by now.”  He says. The whole team looks down. “What?”

“Lotor…”  Pidge spoke up.  “Narti didn’t make it.”

“What?”

“She died.”  Coran said. “We found her trying to walk to us, begging us to save her.  We did all we could, but her wounds were too great. We… we’re sorry.” The older man says.  Lotor looks down, trying not to shed a tear for his friend. He knows that she would not want more tears over her.

“M-May she rest in peace.”  He mumbles. Lotor grieves over Narti for a bit, meanwhile Keith spoke up.

“We need to start thinking of the next step in our plan.”

“What step?”  Shiro asks. Keith looks over at him.

“Our goal from the very beginning, defeating Zarkon.”  He says. The whole team went wide eyed… this was it… the final step in their journey.

“Shiro and I learned about the eclipse… but how are we going to get to Zarkon?”  Lance asks from behind Keith. Lotor spoke up.

“Isn’t it obvious?”  They all look at him.  “We sneak into the Fire Nation, become one of them.”  Something told the team that this wasn’t going to end well.


	16. The Plan

“We need to… sneak into the Fire Nation?”  Shiro asks. Lotor nods.

“It’s the only way to get close.  We must sneak into the capital and strike when the eclipse happens.”  He says, the team looks at one another.

The final stretch of their journey… and it’s going to be the most difficult of them all.  Plus sneaking in sounds risky, very risky. If they get caught… it could mean death. The group was hesitant but Keith nods for them.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Good, we should move out now.  Once we get to the Fire Nation we can discuss our plan to take Zarkon out!”  Lotor hops onto Black. Hunk looks at his friends.

“Uh… yeah I’m gonna go to the Flying Machine.  See ya.” He walks towards the machine. Keith and Shiro airbend up.  Lance began to climb, then heard a low cry. He looks at the lion, ears down, tail twitching, it knew they weren’t coming back for a while.  He sighs and climbs on.

“Come on!  Up!” He calls, the lion jumps on and crawls it’s way onto Black’s back, the bison making an uncomfortable noise as the creature uses its claws to get up.  “Sorry Black.” Lance apologizes for the animal.

The lion rests it’s head on Lance’s lap and glares at Lotor, the poor prince had to back up next to Shiro.

“You do not like people from the Fire Nation.”  Lance points out, the lion purrs against Lance. “Good Kitty.”

“Looks like Lance has a pet.”  Shiro points out in a teasing manner.  Lance smiles and pets the lion.

“I suppose I do.”  He says. “You know, all of my friends have named their animals after colors… how about… Red.”

“Red?”

“Cause he hates the color so much.”  Lance said with a smile. “I’ll call you Red.”  Red looks up at him with big eyes and perked up ears.  “Good Kitty~” He snuggles into the cat. Shiro chuckles and watches as they flew across the sea.

* * *

The group flies for what felt like forever, Keith kept the flying machine up and running with airbending.  Meanwhile everyone else lazily sat around or talked about their next move.

“So once we get to the capitol we must find a way to get Keith to Zarkon before anyone tries to stop us.”

“Seems impossible.”  Lance says while petting Red.  Lotor raised an eyebrow at the waterbender.

“Okay, you think of a better plan.”  He says, Lance didn’t look up from Red.

“All I’m saying is that the castle is probably heavily guarded, telling us to break in is suicide.”

“It will be worth it.”

“Unless we fail.”  He points out. Lotor sighs.

“We need to try.”  Lotor said. “Also we have Keith, we’ll win.”  Lotor said, Keith smiles at the compliment. Lance glares at Lotor, not at all wanting to go with his idea.

“Even though we have Keith, we have a chance of failing.”  Lance says.

“Why are you acting so pessimistic?  Lotor asks.

“I’m worried about all of us.  We may not be ready. I mean just breaking in without a second thought… that’s rather risky.”  He tells the other two.

Lotor just rolls his eyes, Keith looks at the two who are arguing.  Thinking if he should say something. Shiro sighs and kept flying, he wasn’t going to get involved with this.

“Lance, we need to take this risk.  You know this.” Keith says.

“But this is way too risky.  What if someone dies?”

“No one will.  We’ll be sure of it.”  Lotor says with confidence.  Lance glares at him and went back to petting Red, mad that no one was taking his side.  He wants to be near Hunk and Pidge now, maybe even Coran. Just someone that’ll listen to him.

Lotor went back to talking to the group, but most of them barely listened.  Keith stops airbending and the two went back to pedaling. He sat next to Red and pats the cats head, the lion looks at Keith then rests his head on Lance’s lap.  He started listening to Lotor after he got snubbed by the animal.

“Sounds like a plan?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”  Shiro nods, Lance groans.  He flops down on the bison and curls up, Red nuzzles into him.  He wasn’t going to sleep, just hiding away. Keith looks at him and leans down.

“You okay?  You’re acting moody.”  Lance makes a motion for Keith to come closer.  The Avatar listens and leans down. Lance got on his elbows and whispers to him.

“ _ I’m worried because we won’t have any allies or anyone to back us up.  We are literally walking to our graves like this! _ ”  He tells Keith.

“ _ So what do you want me to do? _ ”

“ _ Tell Lotor that this plan is crazy?  It isn’t hard! _ ”

“ _ Can’t you tell him? _ ”

“ _ Uh, haven’t you heard me arguing?  He won’t listen to me. _ ”  He says.  Keith sighs.

“ _ Fine, fine.  I’ll bring it up. _ ”

“ _ Thanks Sweetie. _ ”  Lance said with a smile, Keith got up and nods.  Lance buries his face in Red’s fur and slowly sat up.  They close in on a land mass, everyone looks in slight fear.  Shiro turns back at his friends.

“We’re here.”

* * *

They landed near the capitol and decided to rest for a year or two, well they felt like they needed that amount of rest but they’re done with everything.  They set up camp and fell asleep as soon as they set up, morning came up too soon for the group. They begrudgingly got up and sat around the fire Lotor made.  Hunk began to cook while the others spoke, or goof off.

Pidge played with Green and Red, Matt and Coran watched while talking to one another.  Matt was mainly asking questions about life before the war, Coran answers them happily.  Keith asked Lance if his hair got longer and that was all he needed to do to get Lance to start playing with it.  Keith didn’t really complain though, he just let Lance mess with his hair. Shiro and Lotor were leaning against Black and talking about the plan to sneak into the castle.

Finally they made their plan.  The two sat down in front of the fire and got everyone else’s attention.  They all huddled around and listened to what Shiro had to say.

“So Lotor and I spoke, the eclipse is right around the corner.  We will have to go into the capitol and take out Zarkon when he is vulnerable.”  Shiro says to the group. “So our plan is to sneak into the castle the best we can and take him out right then and there during the eclipse.”  Lance looks at Keith and nudges him, wanting him to speak up. Keith hesitates but spoke up.

“Uh… Shiro, does this plan sound safe to you?”

“What do you mean?”  Shiro asks the Avatar.

“Well I mean… we don’t have any of our allies to help us.  We’re just going in without a full plan.” He says. Lotor raised an eyebrow at that, this sounds so familiar.

“So I’m gonna take a guess and say Lance  _ isn’t  _ involved in this… am I wrong?”  He asks, Keith jumps them looks down.  “I want your opinion, not his.” He tells the Avatar.  “You are above him, his say is not as important as yours.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”  Lance asks in anger. Lotor sighs.

“And I thought you’d understand.”  He says. “Listen, I would like it if you let the Avatar think for himself.  Quit being a manipulative mary and stay out of this.” He hisses, Lance’s stare turned cold and sent an ice needle at Lotor’s throat.

He blankly stares at the ice, everyone else backs away.  They did not want to be close to Lance when he was like this.

“Do not call me a mary.”  He says in a low voice. Lotor just gave that blank look to Lance.  He said nothing, which pissed Lance off even more. Shiro got up and pulled Lance away.

“Lance, you need to back off.”

“You back off!  I have a say in this, as well as the others!  And I am not being manipulative, I’m looking out for my family!  Status doesn’t mean we don’t matter!”

“We don’t have time to think of a proper plan, the eclipse will happen soon.  We have no time to gather allies. This is our only chance.”

“It’s a big risk though.  I know the eclipse is probably our biggest chance, but it can’t be our only one.”

“Sadly, it is.”  Lotor spoke up. “This is the only time our nation is vunerable.  The Avatar is the one who is going to fight my father, not you, thus his say is more important than yours.  I guess status also matters, since he is one of a kind, unlike you lot.”

“Now listen here young man.”  Coran spoke up. “We all have a say, we’re a family.  If someone has concerns then we all listen and try to make a compromise, and Lance has a good point.  This is very dangerous and reckless.”

“Says the non bender.”  Lotor said. Lotor may be more accepting, but he still thinks non benders are beneath him and every other bender.  “If you are so worried about dying then don’t help. Be cowards and stay behind.”

“No.”  Lance cuts back in.  “We aren’t doing this!”

“You be quiet!  The only reason Keith listens to you is because of your relationship with him!”  Lotor snaps.

“My relationship with Keith doesn’t mean anything, nor is it any of your business!”  The whole team stares at the people involved in the heated debate. It was a mess.

“Lotor I actually agree with him, this isn’t a good idea.”  Keith says.

“Way to prove my point Avatar.”  Lotor says. “We don’t have time to argue, the eclipse is near and we have to be ready.  So you are either in, or you are not.” He looks at everyone, they all had to make a choice.

“I-I have to go.”  Keith says quietly.  “It’s an awful idea, but I have to go no matter what.  So I guess I’m in.”

“You cannot be serious.”  Lance mutters.

“Good choice Avatar.”  Lotor says. “Way to have a backbone.”

“I’m going too.”  Shiro said. “I have stuck with Keith since the beginning, I will finish this with him.”

“Of course.”  Lotor nods. “I’m assuming you won’t go.”  He says with a smirk at Lance. The waterbender glares at him, that was his answer.  “Anyone else?” The team stayed quiet.

“I said I agree with Lance.”  Coran said. “You can count me out.”

“Figures.”  Lotor said. Pidge looks at Keith and Shiro.

“I-I’m sorry you guys.  But my answer is no.” She said quietly.

“I’m with my sister, we’re dead meat if we go in there.”  Matt said.

“Yeah, sorry Shiro, Keith… but my answer is a big fat no.”  Hunk says. Keith looks down, only Shiro is going with him? They all believe this is a horrible idea.  Keith agrees though, this was such a quickly thought up plan that you could write it on your wrist.

But this was their only chance to take Zarkon out, they needed to do this.  His friends weren’t coming with them, so it’s just the three sneaking in. Something tells Keith that this was not going to end well.

The group eats then helped Shiro prepare for the sneak attack, by just making Black lighter by taking their luggage.  They also gave their friends quick ‘good lucks’ and ‘be safe’. Shiro looks at Coran and spoke to him.

“No matter what happens to us in the capitol, when the eclipse happens I want you all to get ready to fly away.  In case they go after you.”

“Where do we go?”  Coran.

“Our meet-up place will be Marmora Base, okay?”

“Okay.”

“If we aren’t back in a few days… then you and the rest of the team, including the Marmorians, are in charge of taking Zarkon out.”  He says, Coran slowly nods.

“I understand.”  He says, Shiro nods and walks onto Black.  Keith was forced to give hugs to his friends.  Matt was the only decent hugger, Pidge cried, begging him to come back alive.  Hunk was crushing him, sobbing. Keith was dying.

“H-Hunk… I can’t… I can’t breath!”

“Don’t die!”

“I… won’t!”  He got out of the giant teddy bear’s grasp and took a deep breath.  Before any other hugs were given he airbends onto Black. He waves to Coran, the old man gave him a thumbs up.  He looks at Lance, the waterbender smiles and gave a two finger salute. Keith chuckles and did the same thing back.

Everyone was waving goodbye to Shiro and Keith while Lotor was getting ready to leave with them.  Lance saw him, he walks right up to Lotor and spoke in a low and rather threatening voice.

“They better come back safe.”

“No promises.”  Lotor deadpans. Lance grabs onto Lotor’s armor and pulled him close so they were almost face to face, Lotor was taller so not much could be done there.

“You listen here.  Shiro and Black better come back in one piece, nothing happens to them.  And I swear if Keith comes back with so much as a scrape I will end you, you got it?”  He hisses. Lotor just glares at the waterbender, he doesn’t hate Lance, but he hates how he acts towards him.  Also the fact that he now has a pet who guards him round the clock doesn’t help.

“Fine.”  He sighs, Lance pushes him away and walks towards his friends.  They all waved the group off as they flew near the capitol, praying that they’ll stay safe.

* * *

The small carriage opens up and Honerva steps out.  Zarkon was getting ready to leave the castle, he walks out to greet his wife.  She hugs him with a soft smile, he returns the gesture.

“Hello my love.”  He says. She looks up at him with bright hazel eyes.

“Hello darling.”  She sighs. “It has been too long.”

“Indeed.”  He looks around.  “Are you sure it is a good idea for me to leave?”

“With Lotor on the run with the Avatar and the eclipse being near, we cannot afford to lose you now.  Come, we shall take you to another part of the capital, you shall stay with the nobles.” Honerva said.  Zarkon follows his wife out, the three generals salute to him, as well as the many soldiers behind them.

“Sir, we shall stay here and deal with your son while the eclipse is going on.”  Acxa said. Zarkon nods.

“Good.  Kill him on sight.”

“Yes sir.”  They bow as he walks into the small carriage, Honerva behind him.  They leave the castle to the three generals and the many, many soldiers.  Acxa walks in with Ezor and Zethrid behind her.

“So once we see Lotor, we kill him?”  Ezor asks.

“That is what our lord commands.”  Acxa says. Zethrid looks at her.

“What about the Avatar?”

“We stick with the same plan before.  We catch him and bring him to Zarkon.”  She smiles wickedly. “Once we have him, no one will be able to stop the Fire Nation.”


	17. The Eclipse

The group sat around at the small campsite with nothing to do.  Coran was watching the sky, waiting for the eclipse. Pidge was riding around on Green to get supplies from a nearby forest, who knew the Fire Nation had forests.  Hunk was trying to start a fire, and was getting frustrated. Lance was standing in the direction of the capitol, worried written all over his face. Even Red couldn’t soothe him, but the poor lion was trying.

“You’ve been standing there for nearly an hour.”  That made Lance jump, the lion growls in the direction of the voice.  Lance looks over and sees Matt walking up to him, not fazed by Red at all.

“Hush Red, it’s okay.”  He pats the lion’s head, he listens but his stare didn’t leave Matt.  “Can you blame me? I mean they just went to their graves, I’m just worried about them.”  Lance started to chuckle, trying to lighten the mood for himself. “And they always got mad at me for being ‘risky’.”

“You’ve been with them longer than the rest of us, it makes sense that you worry about them.”  Matt points out. Lance nods and kept staring at the capitol. “But you need to stop fretting over them, they’ll be fine.”

“I know… but I can’t help it.”  Lance looks over at Matt. “They became my family when I had none.  That’s why I get nervous, I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Same.”  Matt nods.  “But they’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right.”  Lance looks back at the capitol, waiting for the eclipse.

* * *

Black lands behind the castle, Lotor looks at the sky and sees nothing is changing, but the color of the sky is different.  He looks at his hand, trying to flick a flame to life. He could, but it was getting weaker.

“It’s soon.”

“I can feel it.”  Keith says, Shiro looks up and watches the sky.  The three watch the sun slowly getting covered.

“How are we gonna get in?”  Shiro asks. Lotor looks at the castle and points.

“There is a secret entrance on the side over there.  It’s a doorway my mother showed me when I was younger, no one besides us know about it.  Zarkon will never know what hit him.” He says with a smirk.

Keith looks and nods, he felt scared yet confident.  The Fire Lord is intimidating, but he’ll have no ability to bend and have no idea that they’re sneaking in.  He smiles and looks at Shiro, the airbender gives him a nod. They had the upper hand here.

They decided to sneak in when the sun was half covered.  They found the door and Lotor told them to get in. They all walked in and looked around the castle.

“No guards are around.”

“Weird, but no worries.”  Lotor says. “Only care about the real enemy.”  He tells Keith, he sighs and the group walked out of the secret tunnel.  As soon as they walked out they saw their exit was blocked by soldiers. The three jumped at the amount of soldiers blocking them.

“What is this?”  Lotor asks.

“I thought you said that no one else knew about the entrance.”  Keith whispers.

“Ah~  You are here.”  Acxa walks in with a smirk, the other two right behind her.  They look at the three who were standing there dumbstruck. “Honerva was right, you were trying to be sneaky.”

“Damn woman.”  Lotor hisses. Honerva gave away the entrance, knowing full well that he’d try to sneak in.

“Where are your friends?”  Ezor asks. “We were looking forward to fighting them.  Now we have all the soldiers for nothing.”

“Who cares, this will be a nice bloodbath.”  Zethrid says happily.

“Remember the plan girls.”  Acxa said calmly. The soldiers moved closer.  Keith panicked, knowing full well that they’re going after him.  He quickly stomps on the ground, causing the earth to shake. A few soldiers fell over.

“We need to get to the throne room, now!”  Lotor commands. The two nod, both boys airbend a few soldiers away and running towards the throne room.  Acxa points.

“After them!”  She commands, the soldiers go after them, Ezor stops next to her fellow sister and looks at her.

“Uh… why are we going after them?  Zarkon isn’t even there?”

“I know.”  She smirks.  “We’re going to corner them.”  The two go after them, Zethrid was already running after them with the soldiers, she was having a great time.

The three stop when the doors to the throne room was locked.  They looked back at the charging soldiers, and Zethrid, coming at them.  Shiro looks at Lotor.

“Can’t you open the door?”  He asks.

“I-I can’t, it’s too large.”  He points out, Keith groans.

“Move!”  He pushed Lotor aside and tried pushing the door open.  The soldiers about reached them. Shiro looks at Lotor and the two nod.  Shiro began to airbend while Lotor tried to lightningbend. The soldiers kept coming, like a wave.  No matter how many soldiers got knocked down more kept coming. Also Shiro was trying his hardest not to kill anyone, much to Lotor’s annoyance.

“Look you’re gonna have to break the rules here!”

“I’m a monk, we believe in peace!”  Shiro snaps. While they argued Keith kept trying to get through the door.  He screams in sheer annoyance and airbends the door open, the two arguing looked back in shock and slight terror.

“Come on!”  Keith shouts and the three run in.  They all make it to the throne room, and were shocked to find nothing there.  They heard wicked laughter behind them.

“Surprised?”

* * *

The sun was nearly covered, Coran was setting up the flying machine while everyone else was packing their things and getting ready to leave, almost everyone…

“Lance?  Lance dear boy, come on we have to go.”  Coran says, Lance looks back at Coran, then back at the capitol.  Pidge sighs.

“Forget it Coran, he’s just gonna stand there until they come back.”

“Lance, everything will be fine.”  Matt calls, Lance shook his head. What he has learned from traveling with the Avatar, they are never “fine”.  Something always goes wrong, blame his paranoia but it’s the truth. He doesn’t want to leave them alone in the capitol.

Hunk and Pidge walk over to comfort him, try to make him go onto the flying machine.

“Come on Lance, those guys are tough.”  Hunk says. “You know they’ll make it through okay, we always make it through.”  He shook his head. Pidge grabs his arm.

“I understand you’re worried Lance, we all are.  But you’re going to have to let them do this. Trust me, they’ll make it out.”

“I don’t think so.”  Lance looks at the capitol.  “It’s never this simple.”

* * *

“What is the meaning of this?  Where is my Father?” Lotor snaps.  Acxa could only laugh at them.

“You honestly think our lord was gonna sit around in the castle during an eclipse?  Ha, you all play a fool.” She says, Ezor hops up next to her.

“Not to mention the Avatar running around, and his good for nothing son.”  She says. Lotor flinched at that, these women have completely turned against him.  Friends… they never meant that, they used him, didn’t they?

Keith and Shiro look at one another, knowing full well that this did not work at all.  They should make a better plan than this.

“So here is what we’ll do.  We’ll lock you all up, and you-”  Acxa looks at Keith. “Will swear your loyalty to the Fire Nation, or pay the price.”  She hisses, Keith glares at her. That’s all the answer Acxa needed from him. “Zethrid hurt you once, I highly doubt she can’t kill you.”

Keith backs off a bit, he tried to firebend at them, nothing.  He tries again, nothing. Shit, the eclipse.

“We have to get out of here.”  Lotor mutters.

“No, I thought the plan was to stay and get captured.”  Shiro said sarcastically. Lotor raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, rude.”  He points out. Keith looks at all the soldiers, he airbends at all of them and topples the front row over.  Ezor and Acxa still can’t hold their ground, but Zethrid can.

“Let’s go!”  Keith shouts.  Both of them nod and run at the soldiers, knowing that they’ll have to fight their way out.  Lotor tried to bend, not working. He looks at his hand for a brief moment, then groans. He looks around for something, anything.  He spots a soldier with a weapon.

“Keith!”  He got the Avatar’s attention.  “Get me that sword!” He commands, Keith listens and aims for the sword user.  Knocking the guy out with one kick. Keith takes it and runs to Lotor, who was using poor hand to hand combat to keep people away.  Keith throws it to him, Lotor caught it and began to use it, slicing through people.

Shiro wishes he wasn’t a part of this, he hates death.  He noticed Keith cringe too but he went on like nothing was happening… does Keith now hate death?  Has he changed?

Shiro jumps back when Ezor tried attacking him, he was distracted.  She smiles at him with a big creepy grin. She traps her head between his theighs and tried to crush his skull.  She held her hand up to burn him, then no fire. This girl was rather airheaded if she forgot.

“Heh, seems like you forgot the eclipse.”  He mocks her, wedging his staff between her legs and airbending her off.  She flew off but hops back up on her feet and charges again, a few soldiers behind her.

Acxa went after Lotor, the two were equally skilled with weapons.  Slashing, blocking, stabbing, clashing, sword meets knife. The two weren’t backing down, both trying to kill the other.  Hard to believe that long ago they were friends.

Keith had to deal with Zethrid plus the majority of soldiers.  Which in his mind is not fair at all, Keith tends to forget he’s considered the most powerful person in the world.  He doesn’t have any water around him and the eclipse means he can’t use his most natural form of bending, so his only option is air and earth.

He sends a few soldiers back with airbending, Zethrid stayed on her feet.

“I want to know how you lived!”  She asks with a smile. “I heard your ribs crack under my fist before I passed out.  So… what caused you to live?”

“Why should I tell you anything?”  Keith asks. Zethrid raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I can kill you twice.”  She said in confidence. Keith smirks.

“And I have you right where I want you.”  He says, Zethrid looks around her, a large circle crack.  Keith stomps, the ground below her crumbles and she fell in.  Keith uses all the crumbled earth to bury her. He went back to dealing with the soldiers around him… damn there were so many.  Keith is having flashbacks when he helped the North, not that mess again.

Lotor kept fighting Acxa, neither was letting up anytime soon.  He pushed her back, she’d use her speed to catch up. Lotor was strong and could hold his ground better, Acxa was quick and nimble.  This fight was not going to end soon, they both are skilled and are making sure they are not losing. Their weapons clash, both pushing back.

“Why?!”  Lotor asks in anger.

“You turned against your home!”  Acxa shouts. “You are a traitor, like the Avatar!”

“My father is the real traitor!  He was Trigel’s friend and teacher and he killed her!”  He shouts, he pushed Acxa back. She ran at him again, Lotor continued to speak.  “How would you feel if someone killed Toto?! You’d act like her!”

“Shut up!”

“He murdered Rahi in front of her!  Her only child, he did nothing wrong!”  He shouts. “You side with a child murderer, a backstabber, and an abusive man!”

“I side with the strong and powerful!”

“You side with evil!”

“You only say that cause you’re labeled a fool!”

“I rather be a fool than become what that vile man has become.”  He hisses. She gave a wicked smile.

“No wonder he abandoned you!  This is where you meet your end!  I will kill you, like what I did to Narti!”  She says. Then a large gust of wind knocks her over, both Lotor and Acxa look over to see Shiro, who was looking rather pissed.  Even Keith stopped and looked at Acxa.

“You… you killed her?”  Keith asks. Then his tone grew dark, he began to shout.  “You killed her?!” He got closer. “She was your friend and ally wasn’t she?!”  He kept walking, Acxa felt fear as both the Avatar and the airbender targeted her.

Lotor noticed Ezor trying to take advantage of their distraction.  Running at her and blocking her attacks. Meanwhile Keith kept yelling at Acxa.

“You are sick, murdering your friend like that!  You bring shame to my nation! You and Zarkon both!”  He shouts, his anger starting to get the best of him. “You made it hard for me to go anywhere!  I feel hate no matter where I go! You make me ashamed of being born! You… you…” His eyes snap open, glowing white.  “-MADE ME A TRAITOR!” The air around him went crazy, everyone backs off.

* * *

The capitol had a white light glow from it, everyone sees that.  Coran quickly hops on the flying machine.

“We have to go now!”  He shouts. Everyone hops onto the flying machine, almost everyone.  “Lance!” He shouts. Lance stares at the capitol in horror. “Lance come on!  We have our orders, we have to leave now!”

Lance stood for a moment in silence.  Then he ran, like something was powering him.  Red follows behind his master.

“Lance!”  Coran calls back.

“Let him go Coran.”  Pidge says. “We need to get goi-”  Before she could finish Matt ran after him.  “Matt no!”

He ignores his sister and ran after the crazy waterbender and the giant cat.  Like hell he’s leaving Lance to go in there alone, minds probably clouded with fear to think straight.  They made it to the castle entrance, Matt still trying to catch up.

Lance forces the door open and ran in, Red behind him.  Matt ran in soon after, both stopped by a large amount of soldiers trying to get to the throne room.  They all looked at the idiots standing before them. Then they charged at the two, plus the cat.

“Well now what?”  Matt growls. Lance didn’t respond, he made claws out of ice and ran at the soldiers, Red follows and started brutally tearing the soldiers apart, most of the soldiers ran from the lion.

Matt follows, using his staff to block most attacks and jabbing the enemies away.  His weapon isn’t really meant for killing, but he can slow them down. Lance on the other hand, he was so determined to get to the throne room that he doesn’t care who dies.  Ignoring the death around him caused by both him and Red.

The area started to smell of blood and death, making the Earth Nomad sick to his stomach.  He has to continue though, he’s the only one helping at the moment. He is sure Coran took off now, hopefully they meet up after this mess… if they live.

* * *

Acxa and Ezor both stare at the Avatar in shock, but mainly fear.  They’ve never seen the Avatar state before, all that power in one person… it’s incredible, but also terrifying.  Acxa broke out of her trance and looked at Ezor.

“Don’t just stand there!  Let’s get him while he’s vulnerable!”  She shouts, Ezor nods. They ran at Keith, thinking that the angered man was vulnerable.  They got close and realized that that was far from the truth. He airbends them away and then sends a large chunk of earth at them.  Both girls panic and flee, the same could not be said for the few soldier that that hit.

Shiro looks at Lotor.

“We need to calm him down!”

“Why?!  We’re winning!”

“He’s not thinking!  He entered through rage!  He’s gonna pass out!” He ran to his brother, Lotor ran after him.  Shiro could only get so close without getting hurt, he began to call to him.  “Keith!” Nothing. “Keith listen to me!”

Lotor came up behind him and watched the enraged Avatar.

“Keith, listen.  You need to calm down… everything will be fine.”  He used a calm voice. No one who was an enemy stayed, they ran off after seeing Keith kill some men with one hit.  “Listen, you are no traitor Keith.” He says. “I should know, I know you well. You are a kind man Keith, you would never turn against your family.”

“I know this cause you haven’t turned against me, or the rest of the group.”  He gave a smile, seeing Keith starting to change expression slightly. He can hear Shiro.  The airbender could get close enough to hold him, pulling him in a tight embrace. “I know the real you.  You are so kind, selfless, and sensitive. You put others before you, you push yourself away to avoid getting hurt, you love too easily, you come off as strong so no one sees how gentle you really are.”  He kept speaking, the Avatar felt tears pour out of his face.

“Even if the whole nation turns against you… hell if you even hate yourself… I will never abandon you.  You are my brother, and I will always love you.” He tells Keith. The Avatar felt himself break, then he breaks out of his state.  Like always he passes out. Shiro smiles and held Keith close.

Lotor looks in sadness, seeing true love for what felt like the first time.  The thing Lotor never had, and it was beautiful.

Shiro picks Keith up and carries him out.  Lotor follows them out.

* * *

The soldiers ran past Matt and Lance.  Red stood by Lance, and growls whenever they got close to his master.  The soldiers didn’t care though, they weren’t after him, they were trying to save their own lives.

A few minutes later Shiro walks out with Lotor, Keith in his arms.  The two look over and were stunned that some of their friends stayed.  Matt waves while Lance ran up in a panic. Red right behind, staying close to protect Lance from Lotor.  He looks at Keith in Shiro’s arms, seeing that he was still breathing. He sighs, knowing now that Keith went into his Avatar State.

He held his arms out, begging to Shiro.  The monk sighs and hands Keith to Lance, the waterbender nuzzles into Keith’s face and made a weak noise.  He walks out, the group follows. The sun was no longer blocked, firebending was possible… that plan failed miserably.

Black makes a low noise when he sees his friends coming back.  Red runs up and talks to Black in their own language. Before they said anything something blocked the sun.  They looked up and saw the flying machine coming down, Shiro chuckles. No one listened, did they?

“Hello fellows!”  He calls, Hunk and Pidge wave down.  The others smile, Matt waves back. They landed and Pidge hops out.

“Idiot!”  She smacks Matt.  He chuckles and hugs his sister.  She squeezes him back. Hunk walks out and looks at Keith, still passed out in Lance’s arms.

“Avatar State?”  He asks. Shiro nods.

“So… did you get the Fire Lord?”  Pidge asks. The two look down.

“My father… was not there.”  He says. “He left the castle, almost like he knew we’d attack there.”  Lotor looks at them. “I now know that this will not be simple. We must come up with something else.”  He looks back at the ground.

“I saw something back there… I saw how close you all are.  You are a real family.” He says. “I ended up endangering one of your own, someone you all care about.  I even split you all up, but even after that. A few of your own came anyways, like you knew something was wrong.”  He smiles at Lance, the waterbender looks at the prince then back at Keith.

“I was wrong to do that to you all.  So if I have a plan I will share it, and I want all of you to have a say.  I will not split this family up anymore.” He says. Everyone smiles at him.

“What now?”  Pidge asks, arm around Matt’s waist as they walk closer to the team.  “We go back to Marmora or…”

“No.”  Shiro shook his head.  “We’re here now, so how about we stay.  Here we’ll get news on Zarkon and the Fire Nation army.”  He tells the team, they all nod. Agreeing to it.

“Uh can I point out a major problem?”  Hunk spoke up. “We stand out, like really stand out!”  He says, Lotor had a lightbulb go off in his head. He gave a rather confident smirk and looks at Hunk.

“Leave that to me.”  He says. They all hop onto one of the fliers and went off.  Lotor looks back at Keith, feeling bad that he caused that.

The plan failed miserably, now Keith lays there defeated.  Lance saw Lotor stare and brought Keith closer, Red curled around them both to protect them both.  He understood why Lance was being so defensive, he’d act the same way if someone he loved got hurt like that.  They kept flying, Lotor giving Shiro directions to where their next destination.


	18. Trying to Blend In Here

The team made it to their destination after travelling for a night.  Pidge and Hunk took over pedaling while Matt and Coran took a nap. Lance was curled up with Red around him.

“We’ve arrived.”  Lotor said. Shiro looks over at their destination, Keith peeks over his shoulder and his eyes grew wide.  Lance woke up and looked down at the city.

“Where are we?”

“Home.”  Keith said with a smile.

They relaxed outside of the area for a bit before entering the city.  Keith and Lotor walked in since they blended in easily. They went into a small store that had many different types of clothes and accessories.  Taking into account what gender they were, how old they were, what accessories would look good or not, what their friends would like to wear, and what would help them blend in well.

They also picked out clothes for themselves and decided to put them on and wear them out.  Lotor wore a simple red top lined with white, tied around was a small white cloth. He wore knee high grey shorts and sandals.  Lotor kept his hair down and his burn is no longer concealed by makeup.

“How are you doing Keith?”  He asks as he walks out.

“Hold on, my hair is giving me trouble.”  He grumbles. Moments later Keith came out.  He wore a top similar to Lotors, except it was lined dark red, he had a small brown tie around his waist to keep it closed with two bags attached to it, laying on each of his sides.  He wore dark burgundy pants that went down to his calves. His hair was up in a ponytail again, his bangs cupped his face. He had a wrap around his right wrist, seeing as how that was his dominant hand. 

“Wow, you don’t look like a peasant at all.”

“I feel weird.”  Keith points out.  He looked in the mirror, he really didn’t look like the orphan from Fire Fountain City anymore.  He looked better, more mature, he didn’t know if he liked it or hated it. Lotor grabs the rest of the clothes he bought for their friends and smiles.

“Come, we must give these to the others quickly.”

“Right.”  They walked back.  Their team was lazily sitting around, doing whatever at the moment.  Lotor walks up with a smile.

“Everyone, I brought disguises.  I shall hand them out to you, so none of you get these mixed up.”  Lotor says and looks through the clothes. Everyone looks up at Keith when he finally walked back, all were taken aback.

“Keith my boy… is that you?”  Coran asks.

“No, it’s his twin brother Akira.”  He sassed. “Of course it’s me.” He says, everyone still stared.

“Keith, wow you look different.  Like a good different.” Pidge says.

“I do?”

“I agree, you look amazing.”  Shiro smiles. “You put your hair back up.”

“Y-Yeah.”  He reaches back and played with his hair.  “Does it look okay?”

“I like it.”  Hunk says. “I barely recognized you.”

“Yeah, you look older.”  Matt says.

“You look ho-good!  You look good.” Lance panics a bit.  Hunk smirks.

“Nice save man.”

“Shut up.”  He whimpers.  Lotor made a noise of victory and seperated the disguises.  They all looked over.

“Who wants to try theirs first?”

“ME!”  Pidge says.  “Me first! I want to see what I got!”  She ran up to Lotor, he hands her everything and she ran behind Black to change.  Everyone waits for her to get done, they heard grunts and ‘get over my butt’ from behind the bison.  When she was done she walks out, everyone gasps. If Keith looked more mature than Pidge seriously looked older.  She looked like a full grown woman.

She had a red crop top, commonly worn by women.  It had a silver piece keeping her one sleeve on her left shoulder together.  She wore a long red skirt that hugged her waist but it began to flow out more so she can move her legs freely.  She wore two golden bracelets, one on each wrist and had a beautiful necklace around her neck and red gemmed earrings.  She was holding a beaded tie in her hands.

“What do I do with this?”  She asks. Keith got up and took the tie from her.  He brushes her hair back and took some of it to put it in a top not.  A piece of her hair fell on her shoulder. She brushes her hair out of her face and smiles.

“You look pretty!”  Lance says. She blushed a bit.  Matt ran up to her and hugs her.

“NO NO NO!”  He shouts. “Cover yourself up!  Someone grab a shawl!”

“Don’t I look nice?”  She asks Matt, he looks at her.

“Yes!  You look beautiful!  I don’t want anyone to look at you while you’re wearing that!”  He kept covering her. “You all look away from her!”

“You think any of us are planning something?”  Shiro asks. Matt glares.

“Matt come on, Pidge is almost an adult.”  Lance says. “She can wear whatever she likes.”

“I like it!”  Pidge says. “Look, I look like an adult now!”

“Cover up!”

“Matt, it’s common for women to wear this in the Fire Nation.”  Keith said. “Plus a shawl will probably overheat her.”

“Yeah this place is melty.”  Lance says. Lotor looks at him and chuckles.

“Melty?”

“Shut up!”  He squeaks and looks away.

“Anyways next one is Shiro’s.”  He held Shiro’s clothes up. The older man took it from Lotor and went behind Black.  He comes out moments later and looks at everyone, the clothes makes him look so much more like a native now, even more so than Lotor.

He wore a lighter red shirt with a white tie around his waist and dark brown pants, he wore a red robe and dark shoes.  He smiles at the group.

“Well?”

“You look like a native.”  Keith says.

“Thank you Mom!”  He held his staff up and cheers.

“You look old.”  Pidge says. Shiro looks at her with a blank look.

“Ow.”

“Next is… Lance.”  Lotor said. Lance took it and sighs.

“Okay, let’s do this.”  He went behind Black and began to change, then started to complain.  “What is this?!”

“Your outfit?”

“This is my disguise?!”  He came out and points at his body.  He wore a long red tunic that went down to his knees, instead of sleeves there were straps that lazily sat on his shoulders.  He had a dark red tie around his waist and long red leggings as pants, then he had sandals. He wore two sets of gold clasps, long ones on his wrists, and ones on his biceps.

“To be fair I didn’t pick that one.  I mean I picked the accessories, but Keith picked the outfit.”  Lotor tattled again, Keith was looking down and holding back his laughter, caught red handed.

“This is a womans outfit!”  
“No, that is what men wear.”  Lotor says. “It’s what older men wear though, along with a robe.”

“Aw seriously?”  He pouts. He walks next to Pidge and sighs, Red walks up to him and stays by his side.  Pidge giggles at him.

“You look handsome.”

“I’m wearing old man clothes.”

“Coran, this is yours.”

“Okie dokie, here I go.”  He takes it from Lotor and thus does the same thing.  He didn’t have much trouble with his and came out with his disguise.  A long red robe with the Fire Nation symbol walks out. He just looks at it.  “Well I feel old.”

“You are old.”  Shiro says.

“I’m not even close to being a hundred yet!”  Coran shouts. “Besides I have more under it.”  He lifts the robe up to show off the rest of his outfit, a normal grey top with red lining and red pants, but the top was so long you don’t see them.  It had a very loose burgundy strap that was not going to hold anything, and some brown shoes.

“Matt, this is yours.”

“Alright, let’s do this!”  He grabs it and runs back. Coran walks up to his fellow friends and kept looking at the outfit.

“Why is this mine?”

“It’s what older men in our nation wear.  Keith and I put a lot of thought into what you all should wear.”  Lotor points out. Matt walks out while they spoke. He was putting his hair up as well.

He wore a grey top lined with yellow with a red strap around his midsection and brown shorts.  On his hands were grey gloves, well somewhat, they cut off on the back of his hand and didn’t cover his palms, they had a gold design on them.  He wore a wrap on his left calf and sandals that looked like they’d fall off.

“Well?”  He asks while looking at his friends, his hair now up showing more of his face.

“You almost look like Keith.”  Shiro teases.

“Oh ha ha ha.”  Matt stood next to him and looks at Hunk.  “Your turn big guy.”

“But I like my clothes.”  Hunk pouts as Lotor hands him his clothes.  Yellow hops off his shoulder and crawls on Keith’s.  He whimpers and went behind the bison. He made noises of confusion and wonder.

When he came out he held the strap to his top in his hands with confusion.  Keith chuckles and went to help him.

“I don’t get your clothes.”  Hunk pouts. He wore something very similar to Keith’s outfit.  A red top lined with yellow, a small white tie to hold it together, and dark red pants, almost black, that reach his shoes.  The only piece of jewelry was his wedding ring.

“Nice Hunk.  Looking real good.”  Lance says then elbows him.  “You should show Shay this when you get back.”

“Oh yeah, give my wife a heart attack.”  He says. Everyone laughs.

“So what’s our first step Lotor?”  Shiro asks, Lotor thought.

“Well the eclipse is a few days away, I think the smart thing to do is to start heading to the capital.”

“Already?!”  Lance asks. “Has Keith mastered earth yet?”  He asks Keith, he nods.

“I’ve gotten it down Lance, don’t worry.”  He says, all of their friends looked at him with the same worry Lance has.  Keith smirks. “I’ve got this guys. Trust me.”

“Okay.”  Pidge says.  “If you’re so sure.”

“I’m positive.  Let’s get moving.”  He says. Everyone starts to follow, feeling weird wearing their new clothes.  Keith sees them and laughs.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Easy for you to say.”  Matt comments. “I feel so weird wearing all of this.”

“I like how pretty I feel.”  Pidge comments happily.

“I feel like I’ll glow in the sunlight with all this gold on my arms.”  Lance says. Shiro starts to laugh at all his friends complaining.

“Come now guys, we won’t have to wear it forever.  Just for a few days then you guys can wear your old clothes.”

“Screw that, I am so keeping this!”  Pidge says looking at her clothes. Lotor chuckles and walked next to Keith.

“Well we made one person happy.”  He says, Keith nods.

“I guess we did.”

* * *

The team decided to look around the city while they thought of the next course of action.  Lance, Hunk, and Pidge ran off to see everything. Matt was walking with Shiro, Coran following them.  Keith and Lotor were left alone to talk.

“So you have a different plan?”

“Yes, one that hopefully means peace.”  Lotor says to Keith as they bought food from a stall.  Keith carefully took it, knowing his history with these people.  He took the roasted duck and walked with Lotor.

“Care to share it?”

“Well we’ll need to make alliances with others.”

“We have alliances with both the North and the Marmorians.”  He tells the prince, Lotor nods.

“I know this.  But we need more.”  He says. “I think we should travel around the Fire Nation and find allies.  I am certain that there are quite a few people upset with the Fire Lord.” He says with confidence.  Keith chuckles a bit and nods.

“I am sure of it.”  The group was walking through a fair of the city, Keith smiles, recognizing everything.  All the games, the stalls he stole from, and the places he sat around and drew. He loves seeing his home again.

Everyone was playing games or watching others play and failing.  Lance runs up to Keith and pulls on his arm.

“Keith, come this way!”  He says in excitement. Keith was confused.  “Come on, Pidge is about to show some jerks up!  Hurry, hurry!” He says happily. Lotor watches as Keith is dragged away.

“Well… now I’m alone.”  He looks around, he decides to walk after them to see what all the fuss is about.  He saw a few men refusing to give Pidge a hammer, the small girl holding Green’s head to keep her at bay.  She wanted to play high striker, a game to test one’s strength. 

“Sorry little lady.”  A man said. “But this is not a game for you.”

“That’s sexist.”

“Your gender is not the issue.”  The man told the pouting teenager.  “It’s your size. You’re tiny, like a lovely little doll.”  He says.

Keith watches with fear for the men who were trying to be gentlemanly to Pidge, they do not know how powerful she really was.  Lance grabs Keith’s arm in excitement, he wanted to see Pidge prove herself. Lotor peeks over Keith’s head and watches them.

“How about we make a bet.”  She says, the men were interested.  “I will play. If I can hit the bell I win, if not then you win.”

“How much you betting?”  The men ask.

“One hundred, sound good to you?”  She asks. The men snicker, easy money.

“Okay Dollface, here ya go.”  They hand the hammer to Pidge, she decides to play them and pretends the hammer is far too heavy for her.  It was quite heavy though. She lifts it up with a grunt, then shows her true strength by slamming it hard on the ground.

The men watch as the bell was rung, she puts the hammer down and cheers.  The small girl hugs Green’s head and laughs. She held her arm up.

“Pay up!”  The men glared at her.

“Cheater!  How did you do that?”

“What?  I didn’t cheat, how dare you!  I’m but a sweet, innocent little girl.”  She says. “Now pay up or I’ll have my Shirshu paralyze you.”  She points at Green, whose tongue was already poking out of her mouth.  The men jump back in fear.

They pay a hundred ban to her, she smirks.  Hopping onto Green and walks away with a greedy grin.  Her friends follow.

“Nice one!”  Lance cheers.

“You really played them well, but you should be careful.”  Hunk said. “We don’t want to reveal you’re an earthbender.  You could get arrested.” He reminds her, she smirks.

“Calm down Keith, it was one bet.”  She says. Lance grabs Keith’s arm and spoke up.

“She’s right, plus those guys were asking for it.  They weren’t letting her play.”

“But we could get in trouble!”  Hunk says. “We can’t reveal that we’re benders.”

“One little bet Hunk.”  Lance says. “As long as she’s not causing a scene.”  He tells them.

“I think it’s awesome.  We could use the money. Ban is not so easy to come across.”  Keith says. Hunk groans.

“Don’t encourage this Keith.”

“Hunk, calm down, it’s only one bet.”  Lance said. “She’s not causing any trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m not causing any trouble.”  She smirks while looking at the shiny coins in the bag.  Lotor gave a very nervous look, this might not end well.

* * *

The other three were back at camp outside of the city.

“Well, nice to see you all back so soon.”  Shiro says. “Had any fun?”

“Kind of.”  Keith said, then he looks over at Matt who was looking at something in sadness.  “Uh Matt? You okay?”

“Ignore him.”  Shiro says. “Matt wants a hawk.”

“I want one, they look cool!”  He whines. Coran rolls his eyes and hands Shiro a bowl of rice.

“We need to worry about war Matt, not animals.”  He says. “By the way Hunk, I cooked some rice. We couldn’t wait.”

“Nice!”  Hunk was okay that he didn’t have to cook for once.

“You say that, but we have four animals on our team!  A bison, a cat, a shirshu, and an armadillo lion! I want a pet of my own!”  He whines. “Everyone has a pet besides me.”

“I don’t.”  Keith says.

“I don’t have one either.”  Coran spoke up.

“I’m not too fond of animals… thanks to that one.”  Lotor glares at Red, the cat growls at him.

“But I want a hawk!  It’d be cool to have a messenger hawk!”

“Who’d we send messages to?”  Shiro asks.

“Each other.”

“We don’t need that!”  Shiro argues. “Plus we don’t have any money here.  Besides Lotor.”

“I spent mine on snacks for Keith and I.”  Lotor admits.

“Okay… so we’re near broke.”  Shiro corrects himself. “We need money to survive here.”

“I got some.”  Pidge says with pride.  “Got it by winning a bet~”

“What?”  Shiro sounded upset.

“Don’t worry Shiro, it was one bet.”  Lance says. “And the men deserved it.”

“Got a hundred ban.”  She tosses the bag to the monk.  He was happy with the money, but betting was something he didn’t agree with.  Matt was sad that it wasn’t enough for a hawk. Everyone was trying to help him get over it.

* * *

The next day everyone was relaxing again.  Lotor was helping Shiro plan their next course of action and where to go.  Maybe a hideout while they were there.

Lance was brushing Red’s fur, Coran was resting his eyes, and Hunk was looking at all the new fruits and vegetables to use to cook.  Matt took a berry and ate it while Hunk was looking.

Pidge was walking around with Green when Keith stopped her.

“Hey Pidgey!”

“Hey Keith, you seem excited.”

“Yes… cause-”  He held up another bag.  “I got more money!”

“Huh?!”

“I made bet with some more people and I won!”  He says. “Who could light a torch while standing far away.”  Keith snickers. “It pays to be the Avatar.”

“You did cheat!”

“So?”  Keith asks.  “I’m the Avatar, I can use this ability however I want.  And it’s not like I was doing anything bad~”

“When Shiro finds out he’s gonna be so mad.”  She says, then smiles. “Let’s get more!”

“Oh?”  He smirks.  “So we’re a team?”

“A total team!  Let’s get more money, this is gonna be so much fun!”  She hops on Green and rides off, Keith walks next to her and they walk to the fair.  No one noticed they left, they kept doing their own thing.

* * *

They look around, Keith nudges Pidge and points at a man with some cups.  She raised an eyebrow. Keith smiles.

“That man there, I remember him.”  He says. “He’s a cheater.”

“Explain.”

“Well, there’s a rock in one of those cups.  While he switches them around he throws the rock in his sleeve.”

“Really now.”  Pidge looks over with a smug grin.  “Well how about an earthbender plays.”  She hops off of Green and walks over. The man laughs as the person before him lost.

“Who wants to try their luck against me?”  He asks.

“May I?”  Pidge spoke up, looking over like she was this sweet innocent woman.  The man gestures over.

“Oh yes Madam.”  She walks over and places herself down gracefully.  Playing the beautiful woman well. “And what do I call a fine gem like you?”

“Katie.”  She says.

“Katie, well it’s fitting for a beauty like yourself.”  He says. “You know how the game works?”

“I think so.  I pick a cup right?”

“Yes, and if it has the rock then you win.”  He says. “How much do you wanna bet?”

“This much will do.”  She gave him a bag of two hundred and fifty ban.  What Keith earned earlier.

“Ooh~  Confident, I like that in a girl.”  He smirks. Pidge pretends to giggle.  He starts to move the cups around. Pidge watches, then he moves up.  Pidge could feel it from under her knees. She lifts her hand up slightly and caused the rock to stay in place.  “So?”

Pidge points at the one on her right.  He laughs.

“So sorry young lady, but you lo-eh?!”  He sees the rock is still there, Pidge claps.

“Oh boy!  I won!” She says happily.  Keith hid his laughter in Green’s fur.  The man snaps.

“Another round!  I-If you win I’ll double it!”

“Oh really?”  Pidge asks. “Okay, I feel very lucky.”  She says. The man does it again, trying to make sure that the rock goes in his sleeve.  However it won’t work with the cute earthbender in front of him. She stops it again and won again.

She claps and walks away with 750 ban.  She climbs onto Green and smiles at Keith.

“I can’t believe he didn’t catch on.”  She says. Keith smirks.

“It’s cause men here fall for a pretty face.”  He tells her. “Especially sad, single men like him.  We can really make a lot with your looks.”

“Oh, does the handsome Avatar think I’m beautiful?”

“Sure.”

“Rude!”  She nudges him with her foot, he chuckles.

“I’m not a sad single man.”  He says.

“Whatever.”  They look around for more people to trick.

* * *

They come back, the team looks over with confusion.

“Where did you two run off to?”  Coran asks. Pidge smiles and shows her earnings to the group.

“Well Keith and I got enough money for our journey, now we can rest easy knowing we have enough cash for a lifetime.  Wouldn’t you all agree?” She asks. Shiro stares at all the money and he had to ask.

“Nice of you two to do that for the team, but where did the money come from?”

“Oh that.”  Keith looks down with a smug grin.  “Well let’s say we got…  _ lucky _ .”  Both he and Pidge laughed.  Hunk caught on.

“You two went back and scammed them, didn’t you!”

“We just… used our bending in our favor.”  Pidge said. “I hardly call that scamming.”

“You guys!”  Hunk whines. Lance glares.

“I cannot believe you two.  One little bet is fine, you two are flat out cheating out there!”

“They cheat too.”  Keith said.

“I don’t care.  You’re the Avatar, you should be above them.”  Lance said. “No more scamming, we are leaving in a few days.  No funny business.”

“Aye aye.”  Pidge said lazily.  Her and Keith smile.  They weren’t gonna stop.

* * *

Matt pouts, still hung up on the whole hawk thing, they went to town and he kept begging for one.  Everyone said no, but the supposed adult wouldn’t let it go. He continues to pout while everyone else relaxed and waited for Hunk and Lance to finish whatever they were making.  The waterbender looks at him and rolls his eyes.

“Big baby.”  He grumbles as he stirs the food with waterbending.  Red watching it go round and round. Hunk looks at everyone and tries to lighten the mood.

“Sooooo who’s hungry?  Lance and I tried making… well whatever this is!”  He says happily.

“It’s soup… of some kind.”  Everyone surrounds the pot, it was an odd green color.

“What exactly did you put in it?”  Lotor asks.

“Dunno… some vegetables I think.  Honestly Hunk and I just threw stuff into a pot and hoped for the best.”  Lance said. Everyone feared for their stomachs, that or their lives.

Pidge and Keith tried to sneak some money from them while they were distracted by the green poison they called soup.  The two snicker as they took some, but as they tried to tip toe away.

“Where do you think you two are going?”  Coran asks. Both froze and slowly looks over.

“ _ Nowhere? _ ”  Both of them said like a question.  Lotor snuck up on them and took the money from their hand and looks at them.  They both jumped when the prince took it.

“Nowhere you say.”  He says. Both pout.  Lance finally lost it, he leaves Hunk to serve and storms up.

“Are you two kidding me?!”  He asks. “Guys it’s time to stop!  I should’ve listened to Hunk.” He mumbles to himself.  He heard Pidge scoff, he looks at her and points. “Do not give me attitude!  You two know what you’re doing is wrong!”

They both roll their eyes, they took the money from Lotor and tried to leave.  Lance sighs and waterbends at their feet, freezing them to the ground. Both of them look, one panics.  Keith uses waterbending to freed them then looks at Lance. He stomps hard at the ground, Lance sank into the ground.

“WAH!  Hey!” He snaps.  Keith made an earthdome around him and walked away with Pidge.

“See you later.”

“Dammit Keith, you free me right now!”  He sounded legit pissed. “Spirits, let me out of this trap!”

“Hold on buddy, I got you!”  Hunk went to save his friend, Coran right behind him.  The two walked off before anyone really tried to stop them.

* * *

The two laughed as they walked away from the fair with more money.  They got quite a haul that day and were glad that no one caught on. Pidge looks over at the empty streets.

“Uh… this seems a little… dead.”

“Huh?”  Keith looks up.  This made him very cautious.  He grabs his friends arm and held her.  “This doesn’t look good. The streets are never this quiet… unless.”  He panics and runs with her. “We gotta go!”

“What?!”

“We have to hide, the streets empty means-”  Before he finished a net was thrown over them, Keith ran, he tried pulling Pidge with him but the net snagged her.  She panics and tried wrestling out of it. The soldiers, arresting them.

The men pick Pidge up and look at a piece of paper.

“Yep that’s her, and I’m guessing that’s her partner.”  He throws Pidge in a wooden cage. She got mad and growls at them.

“Free me!”

“Ma’am, you and your partner are charged with scamming, fraud, and suspects of earthbending.”  Her eyes went wide, what Hunk has warned her about. Dammit, why didn’t she listen to him.

Before Keith could free her from the wooden cage they tied him up by his wrists with metal straps.  Didn’t stop the Avatar from kicking violently, they put metal on his ankles too. Keith screams at them.  They threw him in a different cage.

They were getting hauled away, both too far to really talk to one another.  They really messed up, getting caught over scamming, man this is embarrassing.  And their friends are most likely at camp.

Then stomping, loud stomping.  Like something was running. They look and see Green coming straight at them, Matt riding her.  Pidge nearly cried in joy, while the soldiers flipped out and tried to go faster. Coran latched on to one of the cages with Lance on his back.

“You two need some help?”

“Yes please!”  Pidge said happily.  Coran uses his snakes to cut the connection from the horses off.  Lance used waterbending to cut the wooden bars. Coran uses a snake to latch onto a building.  “Jump off and run to camp, we’ll see you there!”

Coran and Lance flew off.  Matt runs by and stops in front of them.

“Hurry up and hop on!”  He says. Pidge picks Keith up and hands him to Matt, he scooches back and lets his sister take control of steering and they run off before the soldiers could catch them.  They made it out for now.

* * *

“We’re sorry, we really thought we were helping.”  Keith said. Shiro was standing before both of them.  They got on their knees and bow. “Forgive us guys?”

“You two are going to need to do a lot for us before you regain our trust.  You two ran off, scammed, hurt us, and then we had to come save you. From now on, we’re in charge of money.  You two will not come near it unless someone is with you, is that clear?” Shiro asks, both look down and nod.

“Yes Shiro.”  They said in unison.

“Alright.  Pidge go back on the flying machine, Keith let’s go.”  Shiro says, they both hopped on on their respected choices of flight and flew away from Fire Fountain City.  Keith looks at the people he was traveling with. Lotor looked so indifferent, he probably didn’t care. Lance was looking at his cuffs like they were the most interesting thing at the moment.

“Lance?”  He tried getting the waterbenders attention.  Lance looks at him, rather upset. He looks back, not saying a word.  Silent treatment, Keith groans. Shiro looks over at him and pats his head, mouthing ‘he’s not happy’.  Keith felt guilt come back, stupid emotions. Now he feels bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha


	19. Equals in Life

The ride to the next village in the Fire Nation was just boring.  Lotor was looking at a map of the Fire Nation, grumbling to himself.

“Where is the islands again?  It’s over here, I know it.” He says to himself.  Keith looks over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Soooo what’cha looking for?”  He asks.

“A place for us to hideout.”  He says. “I do not wish to be rude, but I’m getting frustrated trying to find this damn place.  I need to be alone before I take it out on someone and regret it.”

“Alright.”  Keith backs off.  He looks at Shiro, he was curled into a ball, fast asleep.  He wonders how someone who looks like Shiro can curl up so tight.  He looks at Lance, who was using Red as a pillow and staring at the sky.

He’s been trying all night to get his attention but Lance was stubborn and would not talk to him.  That made Keith even more upset. He sighs and looks at his other friends, Coran was fixing his snakes, Pidge was watching, almost like she wanted to know how to make them.  Matt was practicing with his staff, and Hunk was cleaning out their pot after their awful soup.

Keith groans, everyone seemed occupied, or they didn’t want to talk to him.  Keith felt bored out of his mind. Lotor looks over and raised an eyebrow.

“You need to do something.”

“I don’t feel like drawing and I don’t want to practice bending, I’ve done enough of that.  I want to talk to someone but everyone is busy.”

“He’s not.”  Lotor nudges his head towards Lance, who was still looking at the sky.  Keith pouts and looks back at Lotor.

“We aren’t really talking to each other at the moment.”

“More like he’s ignoring you.”  Lotor says with a smirk. Keith glares at him.  “But that was then, this is now. Just try.”

“Oh yeah, that’ll work.”

“I’m just saying that maybe he’ll listen this time.”  Lotor says. “And maybe he’ll talk.”

“Doubt it.”  Keith says. He wants to talk to Lance, he really does.  But he can’t really blame the waterbender for being a little salty.  He tried to stop Keith from being an idiot and he trapped him in a big, clay dome that he couldn’t get out of.

He probably made Lance feel weak or something, belittled him.  Which Keith doesn’t want to do, hell he wouldn’t be where he’s at now if it wasn’t for him.  Everyone on their team has helped him in some way, and he repays one of his teachers by trapping them.

Yeah Lance has every right to ignore him.  But Keith isn’t going to accept it cause he’s just as stubborn and wants attention at the moment.  He’s been starved for almost ten years, now that he has friends and family he can have the attention he needs, or right now wants.

He got closer to Lance, ignoring the growls Red gave, and waved in front of his face.  Lotor watched this go down, knowing that it won’t end well, but it’s free entertainment.

“Lance?  Are you done ignoring me?”  He asks, Lance eyes didn’t look away from the sky.  “Lance, hey come on. I said sorry how many times?” Nothing.  “You can’t ignore me forever, I’ll just get annoying.”

Lotor began to chuckle behind them.  Keith glares, he’ll get Lotor for that later, right now he’s trying to get Lance to talk, or at least look at him.

“What more do you want from me?  I said sorry. You want me to beg on my knees?  Kiss your feet? Cut off my fingers? Like what do you want me to do?”  Nothing still. “Lance please, you’re killing me here!”

The others began to laugh too.

“Will you all shut up?!”  He whines. Lance got up and hops down, Red right after him.  Keith groans. “Seriously?”

“Hey Hunk, you got any ideas on what’s for lunch?”  The waterbender asks. Hunk looks at him.

“No actually.”  He says. “I saw a small village over there and maybe I could see what kind of produce they have.”

“Mind if I tag along?”  He asks happily, Hunk nods.

“I don’t see why not.”

“I wanna come too!”  Pidge says happily. Hunk smiles.

“The more the merrier.”  He says. He lets Yellow climb onto his shoulder.  Lance grabs some money and walks off.

“If Shiro wakes up tell him we’ll be back.”

“Can do.”  Coran says.

“If we remember that is.”  Lotor calls. That got the three to laugh, obviously making fun of Coran’s age.  The older man glares at the smirking prince. As soon as they were out of sight Keith falls back and made a distressed noise.

Everyone ignores him, even Lotor who was sitting inches away from him.  Giving the most unsympathetic look possible. Keith grabs his hair in frustration, causing it to fall out of it’s tail.

“He’s driving me nuts!”

“You’re driving me nuts.”  Lotor said. “Fix your hair.”  He points without looking up from his map.  Keith grumbles and puts his hair back up. Fine, no one here understands what he’s going through, it’s just him.

He hates it and everyone has to make fun of him for it.

* * *

Hunk lightly taps Yellow’s head to keep him away from the fish he was looking at.  Lance picks up some fruit and pays for it.

“Does this look good Red?”  He asks the lion, it purrs and rubs his face against Lance’s hand, requesting to be pet.  “You’re such a good boy, yes you are~”

“Jeez, I don’t even talk to Green like that.”

“Shut up small one!”  He sassed. Pidge rolls her eyes and walks around the small shopping area.  Hunk walks over with his basket, seeing what Lance has collected so far.

“So we got rice, some berries, some weird looking cabbage, and fish.  Anything else?”

“Nope, I think we’re good for a while.”  Lance says.

“I want noodles!”  Pidge argues. Lance groans and walks to the stall with her.  They paid and walked back to Hunk. “Okay, now we’re good.” She says, Hunk chuckles and points.

“Back to camp!”  They walk back, Hunk looks at Lance.  “So why did you want to come anyways? Don’t tell me it’s to get away from-”

“Mention his name and I will freeze your mouth shut.”  Lance threatens. Pidge sighs.

“Lance you cannot keep this up.”

“Yes I can.”  Lance says.

“You’re talking to me, why not him?”  She asks, Lance answers.

“Because he put me in a stupid earthdome that I could not get out of.”  He points out. Pidge rolls her eyes. “Don’t give me silent sass. I have every right to be mad.”

“You do?”  She asks. “I mean the earthdome thing was uncalled for, but to be fair you bended first.”

“Not the point Pidge.”  Hunk starts. “I think this is something personal.”

“Personal?  Jeez Lance, don’t be petty.”

“Petty?!”  He shouts. “I am not being petty!  I am showing Keith that his actions have consequences, he trapped me so this is his punishment.”  He tells his friends.

“Can this punishment hurry up then?”  She asks. “I’m sick of hearing him whine.”

“Ignore him, cause I’ll stop when I am no longer angry.”  He tells her, she gave him a look. The three made it back and put their baskets down, Shiro peeks over Black.

“Welcome back you three.”

“Hey Shiro.”  Lance waves. “So what sounds good for lunch?  Hunk, Pidge, and I found great things at the village market.”

“Hm…”  Shiro thought.  “Could you make some sort of curry over rice?  Haven’t had that in forever.”

“That I can do.”  Hunk smiles. Shiro gave a thumbs up.  Hunk got ready, Lance looks down.

“I can add fish to the others.”  He says. Hunk nods.

“You prepare it, I need to make the rice.”  He says. Lance nods and went to skin the fish.  Lotor looks at Lance and watches him prep it.

“I hear you eat a lot of fish in the tribes.”

“We do, meat is the most common thing we have.  Since it’s mostly ice.” He says. “The first time I saw a tree, or any plant life in general, is when I started to travel.”

“That’s kind of scary.”  Lotor says. “Can’t imagine my life without plants.”

“I can, I can also imagine life without dirt, sand, flowers, and this uncomfortable weight on my shoulders.”  He growls and looks at Keith who was now clinging to him. Everyone looks at him and groans, Keith was starting to get desperate.  It was becoming uncomfortable to watch.

Lance kept skinning the fish and pretending he wasn’t there.  He stood up, Keith didn’t move and his arms loosely grabbed at his waist.  Lance hands his friend the fish, Hunk takes it and adds it to the pot after separating Shiro’s portion.  They finished up and served everyone, except Keith wasn’t eating his. He was just clinging to Lance’s back, while Lance was ignoring him like a pro.

Shiro had to pry him off, with the help of Matt, so he could eat.

“Come on, leave him alone.  He’ll talk to you when he wants.”

“He’s annoying me!”  Keith shouts. Lance smirks.  “I saw that! I fucking saw that, you-you get back here!”  He snaps as Lance got up.

“So Coran, what are you doing?”

“Besides watching you making the Avatar suffer?  Not much.” He says. He shoots his snake and smiles.  “That was a few ticks faster!” He cheers. Pidge crawls over and looks.

“You’re going to have to show me how these work.”

“Why?”

“I have something in mind that I want to make.”  She tells Coran, the older man seemed interested.

“A new invention, ey?”  He smirks. “Mind if I join you on this?”

“You’re the inventor, probably have better insight than me.”  She tells him, the older man seemed excited. Inventions were Coran’s candy, was always excited to make something new.  The two got out a new scroll and began to work on Pidge’s idea. Everyone else went back to doing something. Hunk cleaned again, Lance helped him, Lotor looks for that place again, scratching his head in confusion.  Shiro and Matt both worked on their staff skills, and Keith was still clinging like his life depended on it.

* * *

The next few hours or so were kind of dull.  Lotor said he found out where to go and suggests they travel tomorrow, since it’s sundown.  The team agrees and they waited for the sun to set. So they all did something to pass the time.

“Bow before me, I am the Queen of all Nations, Katie!”  Pidge shouts at the four animals standing in front of her.  They all stared at her, not really knowing what was going on.  “As your leader I co- hey get back here. Red don’t go to your master.  Spirits you are a hard animal to train.”

The big cat sits next to Lance, the waterbender smiles and pets the cat’s face.

“You don’t have to listen to her, yeah you don’t have to.”  He talks to the cat in that small baby voice, cooing the cat.  Pidge rolls her eyes.

“Cannot believe that vicious animal likes him.”  She comments. “Him of all people! Like, I’m wondering how he tamed that beast.”

“Says the girl with the shirshu.”  Matt points out, she stuck her tongue out.  Lotor hops off of Black with some dried fruit and snacked on it.  “So what exactly is this hideout? Is it a base or something?”

“Not really, but it’s the last place Zarkon will think to look.”  He smirks. “Trust me, I know my father.” The way he spoke, it was no wonder some of his friends feel so uneasy around him.  He talks with so much confidence, and it sounds so genuine. Hopefully it is, and Zarkon won’t find them.

Keith was playing airball with Shiro, they did this just to get him distracted from clinging to Lance.  Even though they’re trying to distract him he still glares at Lance, still desiring his attention. He threw the ball at Lance, the waterbender yelps as it hit him.  He glares at Keith, he threw it behind him and went back to petting Red.

Shiro groans and ran after the ball.

“Dammit Keith.”  He says. Keith pouts, he was now even more upset that Lance acknowledged him but he still won’t talk to him.  Keith got frustrated, he storms off into the forest next to him. Shiro came back and saw Keith had left, he sighs and plays with the ball himself.

Pidge just watched, she goes back to her “kingdom”.

“Bow before me my creatures!”  She shouts. Black moves slightly, Green sat down, and Yellow rolls on his back and exposed his belly.  “You know what? I’ll take it…”

* * *

The night rolls by so soon that before anyone knew it they were setting up tents.  Hunk crawls in his tent, Coran turns into a cocoon, Pidge made a tent out of earth for her and Matt.  Lotor helps Shiro and Keith set up the tarp. Lance wandered off like usual, Lotor wonders where he went.

“Does he usually wander off like this?”  He asks. Shiro nods.

“He connects with Tui at night, since the moon is almost full.”  He says. “I dunno, he just stares at the moon until he passes out.”  He finally got the tarp up and lays down against Black. Lotor sighs and relaxed on the ground.  He saw Keith looking in the direction where Lance went.

“You gonna go get him?”  He asks. Keith pouts.

“He won’t talk to me.”

“You gave up, didn’t you?”  Lotor smirks, Keith glares at him.

“No, I mean… I… I’m don’t know what to say to him.”

“Apologize!”  Pidge shouts from her tent, she opens one side and glares.  “He’s mad at you for the earth trap, just apologize and get it over with!  I’m sick of your whining!”

“I have been apologizing!” 

“Do it again!  If you don’t try again I will be force you, and I have my ways!”  She snaps. “If we have to go to this hideout while you two are fighting?  I will lose it!” With that she closes her tent back up. Everyone else looks at Keith.

He sighs and walks towards the forest, hoping to find Lance and end this little fight.  Well at this point it’s either make up or deal with Pidge, and Keith does not want to mess with the metalbender.

He made it through the thick of the forest then found an opening, one where the sky was in clear view.  He saw Lance laying on his back staring at the sky happily. Red was curled up at his side, he perks his head up and growls at Keith, knowing full well he’s near.  Lance sat up and whispers to Red, wondering what the lion is growling at. He looks over and sees Keith staring at him. He glares and looked back at the sky.

Keith walks over and stood above him, Lance tries to ignore him.  Keith sighs and his shoulders droop.

“Lance… we have to talk.”  Nothing. “I am so sorry. I don’t know how many times I have to say it.”

“I won’t accept.”  Lance says. “You messed up and put me in a damn trap that I could not escape out of.”  He tells him. “You need to think about what you’ve done, it’s unacceptable.”

“I-Ah…”  He was speechless, he has thought about it.  Why does he even try to apologize? “You think I’m stupid or something?”  He asks in anger. Lance said nothing. “I know why you’re upset! That’s why I’m apologizing, I know what I did was wrong but… but.  Why am I the only one being punished like this?”

“You’re treating me like I don’t exist!  Why don’t you treat Pidge like that?” He asks.  “Huh? Yeah I trapped you, but you never hold a grudge this long!”

“Oh, sorry that I’m actually mad right now.”  Lance says. “Forgive me for having emotions.”

“Making me sound heartless.”

“Well makes sense, you’re from the Fire Nation.  You come from a nation that’s known to be cruel and heartless!”  He snaps in anger. Keith’s eyes flashed in anger and he airbends at Lance.  The waterbender fell to the ground at the powerful attack. “That! That right there is what I’m trying to get at!”

“What?  My bending?  So sorry I’m the Avatar!”  Keith shouts. “I didn’t choose this!  To have this power!”

“I know that, but I’m still upset because of it!”  Lance’s face changed. “I’m mad at you for being powerful, being so strong… and using it against me.  I-I” He buries his face in his hands and groans. “Spirits this is a mistake, I cannot do this.” He says, Keith became puzzled.

“What?”

“I can’t do this.”  He looks at Keith with a rather upset face.  “I-I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at myself. Mad that I’m so weak and unneeded.”  He admits, Keith was just confused.

“Lance, who said you weren’t needed?”

“Reality?”  Lance asks. “I mean come on Keith, look at us!  You’re the Avatar! You’re powerful and amazing, and… and how am I supposed to stand by you as an equal?”

“You… you want to be equal?”  Keith was lost, Lance shook his head.

“I want to be your equal!  I want to protect you, help you, be by your side and, Spirits this is so stupid!”  Lance broke. “I can’t even stop you from being an idiot and you treat me like I’m nothing, you’ll never see me as anything else!  I’m a fool to think otherwise!” He cried, Keith just froze.

“Lance you are not making any sense.  Where is all of this coming from?”

“I’m leaving, you don’t understand!”  He tried walking away, Keith groans and pulls Lance back by earthbending.  “Dammit! Quit bending at me, I hate it!” He pushed Keith. “I hate it, I hate you!  I hate you for making me feel this way!” He snaps. Keith stops him and sighs.

“Tell me, why do you not see yourself as an equal?  I want to know the truth Lance.” He says quietly, Lance whimpers.

“Damn you!”  He kept cursing.  “I want to be seen as someone you can depend on but clearly you don’t get it!  You don’t need me around when all you have to do is bend and make me feel worse!”

“I do depend on you.”

“Bull!”

“I do.”

“You’re lying!”

“I am not, you are important Lance.”

“Stop talking!”

“I couldn’t ask for anyone better to be at my side.”  He says, Lance shuts up and stood still. Keith took that as a good sign.  “You are an equal to me, maybe not bending wise, but emotion wise. I may have bending over you, but you’re the one who has my emotions.”  He says. “I mean, I felt like I was losing it when you wouldn’t even look at me.”

Lance actually chuckled at that.  Keith smiles and pulls Lance in for a hug.  The waterbender relaxed in his arms.

“Keith?”

“What?”

“I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“This.”  Lance said quietly.  Keith nuzzles into Lance’s neck and nods.

“Me too.”  He says, Lance stood still for a moment.

“You know why I’m upset… right?”  Lance asks. “You knew what I was trying to sa-”

“I love you too.”  Keith whispers. Lance felt heat rise to his face, so Keith knew Lance was trying to confess.  He hugged tighter due to his embarrassment, trying to hide his face. He can’t tell if he’s happy or sad at the moment.  Maybe both.

But the bright side is… at least they aren’t fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there ya go, they're together now. No more awkward pining.


	20. The Dark Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK A MONTH TO UPDATE! Okay so I was typing this and then my doc got deleted, so I had to re-write it, then the story was making no sense so I had to write this chapter next, even though this one was suppose to be chapter 21. I guess that'll happen later. As of now enjoy this chapter, again sorry it took so long! :(

The soldiers ran, they ran as far as they could that night.  However nothing saved them, the monster they ran away from followed with a wicked smile.  Coming closer, and closer.

Screaming came that night, followed by snapping and crunching.  An eerie silence follows.

* * *

The ride along the northern area of the Fire Nation was peaceful to say the least.  Everyone was relaxed and cruising without a care in the world. The ones on Black were a little more talkative then the ones peddling.

Lance had his shirt off and arms up while Keith wrapped the usual white bandages around his scar.  Lotor suggested he keep that protected, noting that if someone saw that they’d know his weak point.  Lance agreed and said he needed a light layer, nothing to heavy, otherwise someone would notice.

“Do you need the top covered?”

“No.”  Lance shook his head.  “Just right here, that’s where it’s the weakest.”

“Got it.”  Keith felt around Lance’s torso to see if it was smoothed out.  “Does it look good?”

“Hmm… yep, looks good.”

“Kay.”  Keith rips the end off and flattens it against Lance’s skin.  “You’re good.”

“Thanks Sweetie.”  Lance slides his top back on and ties it closed.  He then pulls a scroll out and began to read it. Lotor looks down at it, it looks sloppy.  Keith wraps his arms around Lance’s waist and looks down with him, reading what was on the scroll.

“And you complain about me being obsessed?”  He teases.

“Shut up, I barely get to look through this anyways.”  Lance says while looking down. Lotor had to ask.

“Is this yours?”

“Yes.  Don’t judge my handwriting.  It’s always been awful.” He says as he takes Keith’s pen for drawing and began to write.

“What is this about?”  Lotor asks.

“It’s about Narti, more specifically… how she died.”  He said quietly. “I told both Coran and Shiro that she had such an unnatural death that I cannot explain it.  So they both encouraged me to study it, maybe then I can find out how she passed away.”

“What do you mean?  Didn’t the burn kill her?”  Lotor asks, remembering Acxa attacking her.

“That’s what we first thought.”  Keith starts. “But Lance thinks that the burn was only something minor.  People have survived much worse. So he thinks something else might’ve caused it.”  He says.

“I just don’t know what though.  I’ve been a healer for a while now, even before I joined this team, and yet I’ve never seen anything like Narti’s situation before.”  Lance says as he tries to figure out this puzzling issue. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t horrified about it. Something attacked her internally and he wants to know what has the ability to do that.

He hums in annoyance, he isn’t smart enough for this.  Maybe he should let Coran see this, he’s wiser and has seen a lot.  Or Pidge, she is undoubtedly the smartest one… despite her dumb decisions.  Someone else, not him. He’s dumb, or at least to him he’s dumb.

Keith takes the pen from him and sighs.

“You’re stressing yourself.  Follow your own preaching and take a break.”

“Give me the pen back, I need to think.”  Lance says, Keith gave Lance a look.

“One, my pen.  Two, you need to relax.  I’ve taken a break on finding my mystery woman, you can take a break on this.”

“Don’t sound logical, I hate it.”  Lance pouts. Keith smirks. “And wipe that grin off your face.”

“What grin?”

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t play dumb.”

“I’m not playing dumb.”  Keith hugs him tighter and buries his face in his neck.  Lance sat there in anger, then slowly had to pet his cat’s head, telling him to not attack Keith.  Lotor reads through some of Lance’s notes, they were very well written for someone like Lance.

“Did you write these yourself?”

“Most of those are just guesses, but yes.”  Lance said. Lotor kept reading. “Okay I know they sound dumb but-”

“They’re very insightful.”  He says. “Is it because you are a waterbender?”

“N-No… well kind of.”  Lance tilts his head against Keith’s.  “It’s because I’m a healer and have some knowledge in that area.  Again these are mindless guesses.”

“Very well thought out guesses.”  Lotor comments. Lance sighs and leans his entire body against Keith.

“I just can’t put my finger on what killed her.”  He says. “That burn healed so easily. Even if it was a deadly blow, people have survived burns before.  You were a perfect example here.” Lance uses his toes to point at one part. “I also used attacks near the heart.  I used myself as an example of one surviving such a fatal attack.” He moves his foot to another note.

Lotor can see where Lance’s frustration was coming from.  This made his own head hurt, and Lotor lives for research and discovery.  That was his favorite pass time when he lived in the castle. He loved looking through books with his mother, finding out everything he can.  Yet somehow he’s at a loss with this, and he has no clue how Lance has thought of so many outcomes and possibilities. He should talk with him more often if it means he can learn something new.

Lance leans back some more and made another unhappy noise.

“Spirits, Keith can’t you use your Avatar powers and find out how she died?”  He asks. Keith actually laughed at that, like what Lance just said was comedy gold.

“Lance I can’t just go into the Spirit World and ask them how someone died, I’m sure they have no clue either.”  He says with a chuckle, Lance pouts at him.

“This is making me mad.”

“Break time then.”

“But I just got it out.”  Lance says.

“And I’m reading it.”  Lotor points out. Lance glares at Keith and took the pen back.  Keith chuckles as Lance takes it back. He uses it to scratches his head as he thought.  Lotor kept looking through it, thinking himself. Keith felt like he was surrounded by a bunch of nerds.

* * *

The group had to land just to rest for a while.  They land in the middle of a forest, everyone sat down and all of them decided to hang around.  Lance and Coran were talking about random things from their old home. Shiro was messing with Hunk while Matt was trying to steal some food.  Hunk puts both of them in an earthdome out of annoyance. Lotor grabs the grappling hook, and launched it, yet another victim added to the hooks ever growing list.

Pidge was on Green and looks at Keith.

“Wanna come search for food?”

“Huh?  Sure.” Keith walks next to her and enters the forest.  They looked through the trees and bushes, Green would hiss if they found anything poisonous.  Keith finds some pink berries and began to pick them all.

He gave Pidge a greedy smile as he held up the handful of berries.  He puts them in his empty pocket that doesn’t have his journal. They decided to walk back to camp, Green stops and hisses at the distance. 

“What’s wrong girl?”  Pidge asks while petting Green’s head.  The shirshu kept hissing, Pidge sighs. “Come on, let’s go.”  They silently walk back. As they walked back something grabs Keith by his shoulder, he jumps and quickly looks over.

Green hisses again.  Keith and Pidge look at who grabs him, an elderly woman walks out with a smile.

“Hello children.”  She says. Both of them were a little jumpy at the woman’s sudden appearance.  “What are you two doing out here?” She asks. Both of them stay quiet. Green was protecting Pidge from the woman, making both of them uncomfortable.

“What are two kids doing out here alone?”  She asks, Keith doesn’t know what to say, neither does Pidge.

“Keith?  Pidge?” They hear someone call to them.  Lance and Shiro walk up. “What’s taking so lo-who’s that?”  Lance asks. His slight suspicion comes back.

“Oh friends?”  She asks. “Nice to meet you all, they call me Hinna.”  The old lady says. “I live in the village over yonder, I run an inn.”

“Hinna?”  Lance asks in surprise.  “Wait… you’re from the Water Tribe!”  He says happily, the old woman nods.

“Yes I am.”  She says. “You look like a native yourself.”

“Uh-huh.”  He nods happily.  Hinna smiles.

“Oh how happy I am!  I haven’t seen a member of the Water Tribe in years.”  She says. “Are these Fire Nomads your friends?”

“Yes, but not all of them are nomads.”  Lance confesses. She raises a brow. “We have more of us actually.”

“Speaking of which-”  Shiro cuts into the conversation.  “We should go back.”

“Yeah.”  Pidge already walks off.

“Oh please-”  Hinna says in a kind voice.  “Come stay at the inn. I will provide rooms for you all.”

“W-We wouldn’t want to burden you.”  Shiro says.

“No burden at all.”  She says. “Please, I insist.”

“Come on Shiro, a free place to stay.”  Lance says happily. Shiro looks at Hinna with an uncomfortable look and groans.

“One night, okay?”

“Okay okay.”  He nods.

“One night?  That will be no trouble, follow me.”

* * *

The inn was decent sized, however it was empty, which weirded Shiro out more.  Shiro told Hinna that they split into groups of two to take up less space. They went into their usual groups.  Shiro and Keith, Lance and Hunk, Pidge and Matt, Coran and Lotor. They all went to their rooms and relaxed. It was nice to have a bed for the night.

Shiro went to check on Green and Black, who had to stay outside, while Keith was left inside.  He brushes his hair out of his ponytail and lays back. He looks over and stops, a pair of purple eyes stare him down.  Long blonde hair falls to the floor as the person stares at him.

“Can I help you?”  He asks, she yelps and disappears.  Keith got up and follows the person.  They didn’t go too far, she was right outside the door curled into a ball.  Keith leans against the doorway, arms folded across his chest and stares her down.

She slowly looks up, Keith smirks at her.  She yelps again and hid back in her lap.

“Um… I can still see you.”  He says. She slowly looks up with feared eyes.  “Hello.” She says nothing. Keith can see her a little more clearly.  She was pale with purple eyes, long blond hair in two low pigtails. She had a more mature body shape, bigger hips and bigger breast.  She wore a red strapless tunic that went down to her hips, and dark leggings. She wore a brown bracelet around her left forearm, and a white ribbon on her right wrist.  She wore old looking sandals. On her ears were long red earrings, and she had a red and gold necklace with three red gems, looked way fancier than Pidge’s.

She looks terrified to be near Keith, but he hasn’t done anything to her, nor will he try.  Then she sees Shiro coming back, she ran off. Shiro watches her leave.

“Who was that?”  Shiro asks, Keith shrugs.

“Dunno, she was watching me.”

“Stalker?”

“No, she seems afraid.”  He tells the airbender. “Let’s hit the hay, we need to reach this hideout soon.”  He says as he goes to sleep. He nods and walks into the room with Keith, both of them passing out.

* * *

The next morning was nice, everyone had no troubles.  Besides Lotor waking up to Green poking her head in his window.  He was a little startled but pats her head. She gave a content gruff and walks away.  Keith and Shiro woke up to Red being in the hallway in between their and his rooms. He looks at them and walks into another room.

Lance was already up, he was making something to drink.  Matt was eating some bread happily.

“Morning.”  He says. Shiro waves while Keith nods.

“What’s for breakfast?”  Shiro asks.

“Bread.”  Matt said.  “Though Hinna said anything we’d like.”  He says. Keith walks up and wraps his arms behind Lance.

“Morning.”  He says. Lance smirks and leans back.

“Someone’s happy to see me.”  He says with a chuckle. Keith rests his chin on his shoulder, Lance looks at him and messes with his hair.  “You haven’t put your hair up, might want to do that before someone recognizes you.”

“I’ll do that in a minute.”

“I would do that now.”  Lance says as he finds the tea leaves he wants to use.  Hinna walks in.

“Oh good, more of you are awake.”  She says. “Only one still asleep is your large friend.”

“Weird, Hunk is usually awake by now.  Maybe Yellow isn’t waking him like usual.”  Lance says as he waterbends water from the drinking bucket and bends it into the kettle.  Hinna’s eyes grew wide.

“My dear… did you just bend?”  She asks, Lance nods.

“Yes.”  He says.  “I’m the only bender from the south actually.”  He tries to move, but Keith was holding him in place.  Lance gave his clingy boyfriend a look. Meanwhile Hinna looked like she was about to cry.  She got in front of Lance and grabs his arms, Lance felt like he was being pinned by both people.

“It has been years since I’ve seen a bender from the south… I thought I would be the last one.  I am so happy.” She says like she was about to cry. Lance steps back in shock.

“You?  You’re a southern bender?!”  He asks. “Oh spirits, I cannot believe it!  I’m not the only one!” He grabs her hands and smiles.  “This is amazing, I never thought I’d meet a waterbender in the Fire Nation!”

“It is a most joyous day.”  She says. “How much do you know my child?”

“Oh Lance?”  Shiro spoke up.  “He reached master level.”

“Really, without a teacher?”  She asks in amazement. Lance smiles proudly.

“Well the moon was my teacher.”  He explains.

“Oh like the first benders.”  She nods. “Well I think I can teach you some more, if you’d like.”

“More?”

“Yes, some things you cannot learn from the moon.”  She tells him.

“But, Tui and La taught me everything.”

“Not everything.”  She grabs his arm. “Come my dear, I shall show you a few more tricks from the south.”  She says, Lance was tugged by his arm.

“Alright, S-Sweetie let go.”  He says, Keith pouts. “I’ll see you later okay?”  He tells the moody Avatar. He pats his head and follows Hinna out.  Matt and Shiro watch him leave.

“There he goes… and I wanted him to make tea.”  Shiro said. He got up and puts the kettle over the fire.  Matt took another slice and slathered it with jam.

“They seemed excited.  Is there really a big difference between northern and southern bending?”

“Apparently.”  Shiro nods. “But southern style is almost dead.  The only ones left who know the southern way of bending is Lance, Keith, and now Hinna.”

“Oh yeah, Lance taught you waterbending.”  Matt said with a smile.

“Where have you been?”  Keith asks in an ‘are you dumb’ voice.  Matt shrugs.

“To be fair I joined when you mastered water.”  They kept talking while Shiro waits for tea. The airbender looks over and sees someone looking in the room.

“Hey Keith, looks like your friend is back.”  He says. Keith looks over and sees the same purple eyes and long blond hair,  The Avatar chuckles and waves at her, she squeaks and ran away again. “Do you know her name yet?”

“Nope.”  They kept eating and talking.  Lotor slowly walks in, confusion written all over his face.

“Uh… why was Green in my room?”

* * *

Pidge shot the grappling hook at the tree, using her metalbending to move herself.  Coran watches as she launched herself to the tree.

“Coran I did it!”  She cheers, Coran claps for her.

“Way to go my dear!”  He calls. Pidge hops down and runs up to him.

“I can’t wait for this to be completed.  It’ll look so cool!” She says happily. Coran pats her head.

“Remember little girl, all inventions need to be tested before you make the final product.  I know you’re going to be metalbending a lot, but you need to have everything working first.”

“I know.”  She says. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to have it working before trying anything risky.”  That got Coran to smile. Then an ice creeper crawls onto the ground and freezes the lone flower behind them.  They look over to see Lance with Hinna, Lance looks impressed.

“I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Of course.  Now you try.”  She says, Lance nods and sends his own ice creeper.  It was just as effective as Hinnas. She claps. “You are at the master level.  I’m guessing you can phase change.”

“Yes.”  Lance nods.  “Not as quickly, but I can do it.”  He tells her.

“You seem to have all the advance things down well.  Ice moves seem to be your strongest.” She tells him, he nods.

“I think so too, but ever since I started this journey with my friends I have improved my skills greatly.  At first I hid my abilities, but after they figured out I started using them more, and I learned more. Especially my healing abilities.”  He says with a smile.

“You have healing abilities?”  She asks, Lance looks and nods.

“Oh, yes.”

“Then you can learn it…”  She mutters to herself.

“What?”  Lance asks, she looks back at him.

“Nothing dear.”  Hinna waves him off.  “Now I must go take care of everyone else at the inn.  Busy busy, you know.” She says. “But can we continue our lessons later?  I have something I must teach you.”

“Really?  What is it?”

“It is a powerful technique, something that can aid you when fighting anyone, especially the horrid Fire Nation.”  She says, Lance had to ask.

“Why are you here Hinna?”  He asks. “Why did you leave the south?”  His question had Hinna looking down in sadness.

“It was years ago, when the war just started.  The south was trying to hold its defenses by attacking the Fire Nation who came to our shores.  I helped the soldiers by bending, my fellow men and I were captured however, and sent here as prisoners.”  She looks at Lance. “I escaped with the power of my bending, but I was granted my freedom by another waterbender.  She said she’d help me escape if I taught her my special technique. I did, and to this day I live here.”

“That’s horrible.”  Lance mutters. “Was the village near the shores?”

“Yes.”

“I grew up near the middle of the land, where the water ran through.”  He says quietly. “They still caught us.”

“Is that how you came to be here?”

“Kind of.  Keith and Shiro rescued me before I died.”  He smiles. “I owe them my life.”

“Those two… are they the ones with raven hair?”

“Uh huh.”  Lance nods.

“So fire nomads saved you.”

“One fire nomad, the other is from the Air Temples.”  He tells her, Hinna nods. She gave Lance a smile and walks back inside.

“It’s nice to know that there are still kind people willing to help.”  She says. “Now I must go and watch over the inn. I hope to see you tonight my dear.”

“Yes ma’am.”  Lance nods and ran off to find Shiro.  Wanting to tell him about this new technique Hinna will teach him.

* * *

“No.”

“Why not?”  Lance asks in anger.  Shiro gave a stern look to the waterbender.

“We planned on leaving today.  We have to get to the hideout and plan our attack against Zarkon, you of all people should know this.”

“But Hinna has more to show me.  Maybe I can-”

“No Lance.”

“But I want to be useful in this fight!”

“And you will be, but we all planned on leaving today.”

“Oh so we’ll just do what you want!”  Lance snaps. “I found someone who can help me improve my bending, someone I didn’t think existed, and you now want to take that from me?!”

“That is not what I am trying to do.  We have a mission Lance!”

“I know, but… but I want to get stronger so I can help.”

“You are strong enough.”

“No I am not, you sound just like Keith!  I am not strong enough!” He continued to shout.  Keith comes in with Red by his side.

“Pidge and I heard shouting, what’s wrong?”  He asks. Shiro answers.

“Lance wants to stay and train with Hinna.”

“But we’re leaving today.”  Keith said. Lance looks down and kicks at the floor.

“I want to get stronger, so I can be more useful.”

“Are you still going on about that?”  Keith asks. Lance folds his arms across his chest, a dejected look on his face.  Keith shook his head. “Love, I already told you that you’re important to us. Also you are at a master level.  I’m happy that you found another southern bender, but we cannot stay here. We have to be prepared before this season ends.”

“I-I know.”  Lance nods slightly, taking a deep breath he swallows any pride he had left.  “I’m sorry… both of you.” He walks away in sadness, then notices Red

“Red!”  He calls.  Red just looks at him.  “Come here.” Red looks a little hesitant, he rubs his head against Keith, still eyeing his owner.  “You wanna stay with Keith? Alright then.” He walks back outside. Shiro looks at Red with confusion.

“Has Red been following you?”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah.  Don’t know why.  Ever since we got here he’s either been with me or Lance, but now he’s stuck to me like glue.”

“That’s odd.  The others have been acting the same.”

“How so?”

“Well Black hasn’t stopped eyeing you.  Also Green has been with Lotor a lot, as you’ve heard.  The only one that isn’t bad is Yellow.” Just then Hunk walks by, alone.  “And now I have to ask. Hunk, where is Yellow?”

“I have no idea.”  He says. “I’ve been looking for him all day, I can’t find him anywhere.”  He groans. “This worries me, I can’t find my cat.” The three, plus Red, look for the small kitten.

The found it… on Lotor’s back.  The prince didn’t seem to mind it.  In fact he seemed perfectly fine with the small creature curled onto his back.  Lotor was on his stomach, reading some book he found. So lost in his book that he doesn’t seem to notice the cat.

Green was in the window still, head resting on the window as he read.  Hunk walks over and pets his cat, Lotor looks at him with confusion.

“Uh… hello.”

“You have my cat.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

“Ask your cat, he came to me.  I was just reading and minding my own business.  Also, can you get the small angry one to take her giant living weapon?  I feel like it will attack me.”

“But she seems calm at the moment.  If Green were to attack she’d be hissing and snarling at you.”  Hunk says. Lotor looks at the shirshu.

“Huh… then I guess she’s okay with me.”  He says. Shiro noticed an odd pattern. Both natives from the Fire Nation have animals practically surrounding them, like they were protecting them from something.  Shiro had an odd feeling.

He walks out to check on Black, he found Coran sitting on the bison.

“Hey Coran.”

“Hello Shiro.

“What’re you doing?”  He asks.

“I was with Pidge and Keith some time ago.  She was training over there.” He says, Shiro looks over, no Pidge in sight.

“That’s not good.”  Shiro points out and looks at all the animals surrounding the place.  “Makes me worried about what’s really going on out here. The animals seem aware that something is off and now Pidge is gone all of a sudden.  Also that girl seems like she wants to say something but is too afraid. This place has a secret that no one is sharing.

Meanwhile Hinna glares at Shiro, then walks back inside.

* * *

Keith sat in his room, Red laying beside him on his bed.  Tail twitching back and forth, growling lowly. Keith pats the lions head, his touch soothed the creature.  Red calms down a bit, leaning into Keith’s touch.

“You’re probably worried about your owner, aren’t you?  I’m worried about him too.”

“That’s not what the creature is worried about.”  A mysterious voice spoke up. Keith jumps and looks over at the doorway, his little friend finally spoke up.  “He’s worried about you.”

“Me, why me?”

“I’ve already said too much.”  She ran off. Keith tried to catch her but she was already long gone, how can someone be that fast?

Keith thought about what the young blond girl said, it was strange.  It made the Avatar uncomfortable.

* * *

Lance messes with his gold cuffs as everyone outside starts packing.  He didn’t argue it any further and agreed that they need to leave as soon as possible.  The war had to end, and he knows that they’ll win. They had the Avatar after all, and if anyone knows the Avatar it’s Lance.  He smiles and leans back against the wall of the inn, waiting for Shiro to say it’s time.

But that didn’t come, instead it was kind of silent.  Lance felt a little worried and decided to go check on them.  But a hand stops him, it was Hinna, a warm smile on her face.

“You are still here, I am glad.”  She says, Lance nods.

“Y-Yeah, my friends are taking forever packing.  I was just about to check on them.”

“Oh, well since they are taking their time why don’t I show you that technique.”  She says happily. Lance raised an eyebrow.

“But they might be ready any minute.”  Lance points out. “I have to go wi-”

“Don’t be silly, come now.  It will only take a minute or two.”  She says. Lance looks back at his friends direction.  It was taking forever, and the moon was already out. He sighs and nods.

“Alright.”  He follows her deep into the woods.  Inside the assistant felt her body grow cold, she shook her head.  Letting her fear go she runs outside.

* * *

“What is taking Pidge?”  Shiro asks. Everyone else shrugs, they were sitting around waiting for her.  She was the last one to come back to the inn, but she was still training. Then the small girl runs out, they all see her.  She was panicked and out of breath.

Once she regained it she grabs Keith’s arm and starts yanking on it, Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Can I help you?”

“You have to stop her!”

“Stop who?”  Keith got up and tugs his arm away, she looked so frightened.

“Hinna!  She-She took your friend!  The waterbender!” She sounded so scared.  Keith’s eyes went feral.

“What do you mean?”

“Hinna isn’t who she seems!  She plans on using him, plans on teaching him her cursed art!  You have to sto-” Just then Lotor shot up and grabs her. She looks him dead in the eyes, just as scared.

“Do you know where they went?”  He asks, she nods. “All of you search for Pidge, I’m going after Lance.”

“On it.”  Matt nods, his sister was his top priority.  He calls Green over. The shirshu runs up, Matt hops on.  Keith runs next to the animal, airbending on and joining Matt in the search for Pidge.  Meanwhile Lotor grabs the girls arm.

“Lead the way!”

“Right!”  They ran off.  Shiro, Coran, and Hunk all look at one another.  They got on Black, along with Yellow and Red. With a yip yip they were off, looking around the forest to find their friends.

* * *

Matt and Keith ran around the forest till they found Pidge, hanging by a tree.  Keith earthbends up and releases her. She was cut up and bruised everywhere, obviously she was attacked, but not by fire.  Keith couldn’t find one burn, so something else had to have harmed her. She was out, not waking up anytime soon.

Matt told Keith to hold onto her as he lead them back to camp.  The good news was that she was okay and was going to live, bad news… whoever attacked her is still out there.

* * *

Lance and Hinna stop in a nice opening in the forest.  She had her back facing Lance as she started to speak.

“You remember that I had escaped prison thirty years ago?”  She asks, Lance said nothing. “Do you want to know how I escaped such a vile place?”  Again no answer. “It was a skill I had learned and perfected in my times as a prisoner.  I used it to escape, then a kind waterbender came in, wanting to learn the skill herself.”  Her voice grew dark.

“However she was a horrid wench was working for the Fire Nation, she learned my skill and now uses it to aid our enemies.”  She hisses. “But now, now I can pass the skill on to someone who I deem worthy. Someone I know who will use it well.”

Lance just stood there in silent fear, no words came to mind to describe how he felt at that moment.  Then Hinna lifts one hand up, Lance froze, his body was paralyzed. Hinna moves her hand to the side, Lance flew in that direction.  He got up and looks at her in fear, then his body began to twist and bend in ways the body should not move, and he was already flexible.

He screams in pain, as soon as she heard that she drops him.  Lance fell and looks at her.

“Wha-what was-?”

“Bloodbending.”  She says. “It is when you control one's body, once you master this you can control anything… or anyone.”  Her smile was wicked. Lance never felt so scared in his life, this passed nearly dying.

“Now focus all your energy on ones body, then you can control them however you please.”  She says. Lance shook his head.

“No, this… this feels wrong.”  He says. “I’d rather use my abilities to heal, not whatever this is.”

“This can help fight the Fire Nation!  With this ability you can stop anyone who crosses your path.  You will be too powerful to stop.” She says. “Now let yourself go.  I know you are a fighter, let that killer out.” She says, Lance’s body ran cold.

“I’m not-”

“I can tell when one has killed before.  You are a murderer, killing men all around you.”

“But this is… this is a new level of messed up.  Hinna, I’m sorry but… but I’d rather not-”

“LANCE!”  A familiar voice shouts.  Lotor runs up with a girl by his side.  Lance barely recognizes her. Has he seen here?  Maybe at the inn, right? Lotor stands next to him and let his hands.  “Stay away from her.”

“Lotor?  What is going on?”

“This woman is psychotic!”  He says, Lance looks at his friend with concern.  Hinna glares at the girl.

“Romelle, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m sick of you hurting innocent men and women day by day!”  She snaps. “I am through living in fear, of regretting every nomad I’ve lead here to their deaths!  I will not allow you to pass this curse to someone else!”

“You ungrateful brat!”  She bloodbends Romelle. “Who rescued you all those years ago, a young child lost, near death, and I took you in.”  She hisses. “I should’ve let the nomads slaughter you, like what they did to your brother.”

Lotor firebends at her, causing her to release Romelle.  The girl shivers in pain as she was released. Lance runs over to check if she was okay.

“This woman.”  Lotor starts. “She was the one who taught my mother bloodbending.  This woman holds a grudge against the Fire Nation. She kills whoever comes here.”

“You-”  She points at Lotor.  “Oh ho ho… that face… you are Honerva’s son.”  She smiles wickedly. “That damned woman who aids the Fire Nation.”  She bends at Lotor, causing his body to twist, he screams in pain. “She had a child in this nation?  An offspring from the Fire Nation?! Truly pathetic!” She shouts at him.

Lance grabs water from his sack and bends it at her, she held her hand up and turned it to gas, Lance panics and tries again.  She releases Lotor and bends at Lance, causing his body to twitch and shake violently. He doubles over in pain and breathes heavily.  Then something red pools in his hand. He froze.

Quickly opening his top and looks at the bandage around his torso, blood.  He looks at Hinna with pathetic fear. It popped a vessel in his scar, he grabs the what little water he had left and healed it the best he could.  Romelle looks at him with worry. He stares back at Hinna, who was staring at Lotor, currently breathing heavily on the ground.

“You vile offspring.”  She hisses, then at Romelle.  “And you traitor.” She bends at both of them, twisting their bodies that causes both of them to howl in pain.  Lance looks at it in horror, Lotor was right, Hinna is crazy. “I should’ve offed you and that other nomad when I had the chance!”

Lance’s eyes went wide, glaring at her.  She was planning on killing Lotor and Keith?  No wonder the animals surrounded those two, Hinna was planning on murdering them.  And Romelle, she was trying to warn them this whole time.

Lance’s stare went dark, his eyes screamed murder.  He slowly lifts one hand, having it face Hinna. The old woman’s body froze, causing her to free Romelle and Lotor from her power.  Lance violently throws her to one side. Hinna flew over and fell hard on the ground, Lance caused her to stand on her feet. Hinna’s body obeyed.  Then with one sharp movement her body twisted violently, the old woman cried in pain. Lance finally dropped her when he heard a snap. She fell onto the ground, Lance’s eyes went wide when he realized what he had just done.

Hinna began to laugh, it was weak… she wasn’t going to make it.  She wasn’t even looking at them.

“Congratulations Lance, you are now a bloodbender.”  Were her final words. Lance held his mouth and began to cry, he felt disgusted in himself.  He just did that, he bloodbended, something he did not want to learn. He tried not to cry, but damn his eyes betrayed him.  Romelle walks up to his side and hugs him, Lotor pats his shoulder.

They walked back to their team, they landed as soon as they saw Matt and Keith with Pidge.  They waited for the others to come back. They were found soon after and the began to fly high into the sky.

Lance took out his scroll and the pen.  He wrote: Cause of death, internal damage caused by bloodbending.  Taboo art, must not be taught or used ever again.


	21. Airbender

Lotor and Shiro were looking around on the ground as they flew by.  Keith was fast asleep while Lance was petting Red while watching the ground move by.  Everything was going by fast.

“So it’s just over here?”  Shiro asks.

“Yes.  Past this ocean line.”  Lotor says. “We’ll be landing shortly.”

“Which reminds me.”  Lance spoke up. “Did she really have to come with us?”  He asks while looking at their newest member, who was currently looking down at the ocean below her.

“We couldn’t just leave her alone.”  Shiro points out.

“It’s dangerous with us though.”  He says. “We’re getting ready for war and we have a non bender who can’t fight-”

“Weee!”  She leans far down.  Lance panics and pulls her back up.

“Romelle what is wrong with you?!”

“That was fun!”

“No it wasn’t!  You could’ve fallen!”  He warns.

“Water is below.  It would’ve been fine.”

“No, I’ve been pushed off before.  Trust me, it hurts.”

“Let me try-”

“NO!”  Lance grabs her again, which woke Keith up.  He airbends both Romelle and Lance back, causing them to squeak in fear then hit Red on the other side.  The lion looks at them with annoyance.

“What are you two doing?”  Keith asks with a tired voice.  Lance and Romelle both look at him with innocent eyes.

“Does it hurt when you fall into the water?”  She asks. Keith gave her a very judgmental look.

“Do not try to jump off the edge.”  He says, then went back to resting his eyes.  Lance looks at Romelle who was pouting. She wanted to try it, and Keith said no.  They saw the others flying next to them. Saying hi as they flew close by.

* * *

The group landed on a peaceful beach.  They all hopped down and stretched.

“Ah, it’s good to be on dry land!”  Pidge shouts. Hunk nods in agreement, loving the earth around him.  Lance immediately runs towards the ocean and played in the water. He started bending it around him happily.

Keith hops down and began to bend whatever he wanted, Romelle joined in even though she couldn’t bend.  Shiro watches as the other five had fun, then Matt decides to tackle him down like a child and began to wrestle.  Lotor watches with Coran all of their teammates being children and playing.

“Gonna join them?”  Coran asks, Lotor laughs.

“I am no child.”  He says, Coran raises an eyebrow.

“How old are you?”

“Hm?  Twenty one, why?”

“You are still so young, you have a few hundred years left.”

“I know.”  Lotor says as he continues to watch.  Coran could tell Lotor kind of wanted to join.

“You know… no one is gonna judge you for joining in.”  He says, Lotor just looks at him with slightly nervous eyes.  “Shiro and Matt are both older than you and they’re having fun.”

“I-I never had friends like this…”  He admits. “So I… I never did this.”

“Wrestle?  All young boys wrestle.”  Coran was flabbergasted. “I mean Shiro is twenty five and he still finds it fun.  See?” He points at the airbender who was putting Matt in a headlock. Lotor was still unsure.  “Try it, it’s much fun. I use to rough house with my friends back in the day, it’s something guys tend to do.  Well guys, and Pidge.”

They watched as Pidge and Hunk fought, more like Hunk running away from Pidge.  Lotor sighs and gave in. Might as well try it.

He hops down and firebends at Keith’s feet.  The Avatar jumps back and looks at Lotor. The prince froze… did he mess up?  Then Keith’s eyes lit up, he lunged at Lotor by using airbending and tackled him to the ground.  Lotor suddenly felt a surge of energy and tried to flip them over, didn’t work since Keith was a filthy cheater and kept earthbending to knock Lotor off his feet.

The prince never did this before, never had any friends besides the girls, and well they never wanted to play like this.  He was an adult for crying out loud, an adult who was taught in the ways of war, was taught to show no mercy to his enemies.  Is now trying to wrestle the Avatar in the sand. And he was having fun, a lot of fun.

Romelle looks at Lance and ran at him, he sighs and wraps water around her.  He lifts her high in the air, she laughs and held her arms out.

“Higher!”  She calls, Lance tried and moved her around like a bird.  She was so happy. Pidge saw that and jumps.

“I wanna do that!”  She shouts. “Me next!”

“I can do two at a time ya know.”  He uses his other hand to grab Pidge and bends her up next to Romelle, the two girls were having fun flying around.  Hunk watches, both of them flying around, behind him Matt got thrown.

Lotor and Keith went at it till Keith traps him in an earthdome, he jumps on top and starts dancing in victory.  Laughing and mocking him, Lotor sat there, actually pissed off that Keith trapped him. Lance looks over while he was still bending the two girls up high.

“Yeah, not fun being trapped in there.”  He comments, Lotor said nothing.

Matt got up after he got thrown by the airbender and sees a nice house.  It overlooked the ocean but was far enough that it wouldn’t hit the house.  Also flowers surrounded the place, it looked like a little paradise.

“It’s so pretty.”  He comments to himself.  Shiro walks up to get Matt, he noticed the house too.

“Wow, was that always here?”  He asks. “Hey everyone, check this out?”  They all walked over. Shiro walks over to the door of the house.  Coran walks next to Matt. Lance and the two girls follow after. Keith earthbends after them, keeping Lotor in the dome.  At least he was moving Lotor with him.

Keith releases Lotor and they look at the house, the prince smiles.

“It’s still here, thank the spirits.”  He says then stands in front of them. “Friends, welcome to our safe house!”  He tells them, everyone looks at it.

“This is where we’re staying?”  Pidge asks.

“Yes, this home was given to me from my Mother.  She gave me this place as a private study. It has many rooms, they were for my servants.  Also a kitchen, middle garden, and even a library.”

“Library?”  Keith asks with interest.

“Yes.  Come in everyone!”  Lotor says happily. Everyone ran in with him, even the animals ran in.  Black flew up and landed in the middle of the home in the garden, which was big enough for him.  The doors were big enough for Green to just walk on in.

Everyone looks around the house, excited that they have enough rooms that each could have their own room.  Everyone picked one and grabs all their things to try and fill the space. None of them had a lot of luggage.

Pidge and Romelle ran out into the garden, admiring the beautiful flowers.  Shiro pokes his head out of the window of his room. Only window he had. Matt walks out and looks around, nodding happily.

“Damn, hey Keith come check this out!”  He calls the Avatar. He walks out and sees the garden.  “Nice right?” He asks, Keith’s eyes lit up. He ran back inside to grab his journal and pen.  Lance, Hunk, and Red look outside and smile.

“This place is relaxing.”  The waterbender says. Hunk looks around and puts Yellow down.  The cat rolls onto his back and relaxed in the grass.

“Yup, it’s a relaxing place.”  He confirms. Lance laughs, then petting Red.  The lion walks over to Yellow, then he wraps his body around the kitten.  Then he began to clean the kitten’s belly. Yellow began to bat at the lions face.  Red pouts and began to nuzzle into the cats belly. Yellow makes a squealing noise and playfully bats at his face.

Coran walks out and looks at the natural garden around them.

“Oh, flowers surround a pond?  How beautiful.”

“Yes.”  Lotor pokes his head out another window.  It was the room next to Shiro’s, the two just looked outside.  “I planted those flowers, wanted to know what they grew into. Most of them ended up being firelilies.  But I tried creating my own garden.”

“It’s beautiful.”  Coran says, seconds later Keith came out and sat in front of the garden.  He began to sketch what was in front of him. Everyone looks at Keith like he was a weirdo.  Romelle looks over his shoulder and watches him draw, for once she was being quiet and still.

The group confirms that she needs to be interested in something in order to keep her still, otherwise she runs around like a headless chicken.  Everyone decided on settling down for the time being, finally a place to rest without worrying about the Fire Nation finding them.

They all went into their rooms to rest and relax, except Coran.  Instead he walks to Keith’s room to ask him something.

“Keith my boy?”

“Hey, Coran.  You need something?”  He asks as he lays a bed on the ground near the balcony of his room.

“Well it’s about the war.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re nearing it.”  He says. “Nearing the end.”

“I know.”  Keith says.

“I just…”  He looks at Keith.  “You have a plan right?”

“Yeah, well kind of.”  Keith admits. “I want to go find all our allies and see if they’ll join us.  I know when we should attack, I just need them to help in case we need backup.”  He tells the older man. “I know Allura will help, she’s one of my closest friends.  Also the Marmorians will back me up no matter what. We’ll ask more for help around, but I think that’ll be it.”

“Keith,”  Coran starts.  “You know I knew the previous Avatar, Princess Trigal, right?”  Keith nods. “Well, I was devastated when she past. After her I lost more… I just don’t want someone as young as you dying on me.  I don’t want to experience another Avatar’s death. No one should see two.”

“Coran-”

“It’s funny isn’t it?”  He asks. “I’ve gotten to meet you again, makes me miss the old you more, yet I love the new you just as much.”

“Coran.”  Keith walks up to him with a smile.  “I’m glad you’re in my life, in both my lives.  You’ve been a great friend, and I’m truly blessed to have a friend as loyal as you.”  He says. Coran felt himself grow teary eyed. He grabs Keith and pulls him in for a hug.

“Oh I love you so much boy!  You better not die on me again, ya hear me?!”

“I hear ya… I hear ya.”  He slowly hugs him back, a small smile on his face.

* * *

The next day they all decided to run around the beach and play like it’s no ones business.  Lotor was sitting on the shoreline, looking at a map of the world. He was circling places they should stop by to see if any alliances should be made.  Lance walks over to him and gave him a smirk.

“We convinced you to wear your swimwear, yet you still decide to work?”  He asks.

“We’re preparing for war Lance, we shouldn’t be playing around in the sand like a couple of children.”

“This is just us taking a break after the long hellish trip we’ve been on.  I mean I’ve been travelling longer than you and trust me, this is the first time I feel relaxed and not paranoid about anything.”  Lance says. “Just let us have this.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”  He waves it off, Lance chuckles at that.  “Have you found out more about…?” Lance’s face dropped at what Lotor was asking.  He hugged himself and looks down, nodding.

“Yeah, I found some of your mother’s scrolls about it.  Apparently it’s used on a full moon, however if you practice it enough you can use it no matter what phase the moon is in.  Also she theorized that you can master it even further that you can use your mind, however she couldn’t get that far due to it putting too much stress on her own body.”  He says.

Lotor nods, looking at Lance with an unfazed face.  Lance gave a serious look.

“If I may, I’d like to keep those scrolls with me.”

“Why?”

“I am now the last known southern bender alive.  Since bloodbending is considered a southern art, I feel as though I have the rights to them.”  He says. “Bloodbending is too dangerous, I deem it a taboo and thus no one else should learn it.”

“It could be useful-”

“No Lotor, it is a sinful technique and I will not have that taught to anyone else.  Hinna is dead, the only ones left who knows it is your mother and I. After the war is over I want no one else to learn it.”  He says, Lotor looks skeptical. “I wish to take them and keep them locked away so no one ever tries to learn them.”

“And just where are you gonna keep them?”  Lotor asks. “In the north?”

“No.”  Lance shakes his head.  “As soon as this war is over I’ll put them somewhere.”

“Somewhere.”  Lotor says.

“Once Keith and I settle somewhere I’ll find a place for them.  But I’m telling you now that I want to keep those scrolls, I know the north will try and take them to learn it, despite me claiming it a taboo art.  So I-”

“Lance.”  Lotor cuts him off.   “You are a masterbender and the only one who is from the south.  I am not, neither is my mother. You have more rights over both of us when it comes to those.  If you wish to take them then go ahead.” He says, Lance gave a relieved smile. “And Lance… thank you.”

“For what?”  Lance asks.

“For trying to save Narti, and trying to find out what caused her death.  You are right, bloodbending should remain a secret to you, and you alone.”

“Honerva still knows it.”

“And she won’t last in this war.”  Lotor said. “I’ll make sure of that.”  He went back to his map, Lance looked a little worried about that.  Was Lotor planning on killing his own mother? That seems brutal, and heartless.  Killing the one thing that created you, that gave you life. That held you for what seems like seasons.

He shook it off and went back to the beach to hang out with everyone else.  He sees Matt was buried in the sand, most likely caused by Shiro, Romelle was sitting in the water, splashing around.  Pidge was moving around in the sand, like a little sandbender, Hunk was watching her. Coran was sitting on one of the chairs, sunbathing, and Keith was just watching Pidge roll around in the sand.

All their animals, except for Black, were back inside the house, some too scared of the water.  Black was sitting close by, watching the water.

Pidge hops out and looks at her brother.  Both he and Shiro gave her a big smile, like two kids who knew they were doing something wrong and didn’t care if they got caught.  Pidge sighs.

“Having fun?”

“Yep.”  Shiro nods.

“Living the dream.”  Matt follows up. Pidge rolls her eyes and got out of the sand.  She looks around her and smiles.

“Hey Hunk, check this out.”  She stomps hard on the ground, making a miniature replica of her home in the woods.  Hunk looks at it and nods.

“Nice, but check this out!”  He moves his arms around, creating Ba Sing Se.  “Beat that.” He challenges. Both of them heard a stomp behind them.  Looking over at Keith who made the Fire Kingdom. He smirks at them, knowing he won.  “No one likes a show off Keith.” Hunk comments.

They look over at Lance, who was building a sandhill.  He knew he couldn’t bend a castle… or make a castle… but he wanted to feel some inclusion.  Pidge snorts.

“What is that?”

“My sandhill, there are many like it but this one is mine.  My special sandhill.” He says.

“Looks awful.”  She says. “You can’t build a sandcastle, can you?”  She teases. Lance pouts, he bends the tides to come closer.  Moving Romelle in the process. Hitting the other three’s sandcastles, causing them to become lumps of wet sand.

“Now I’m the only sandcastle.”  He says as he sticks his tongue out.

“Salty much?”  Keith asks. Lance continued to make his sandhill, Pidge stomps on it in anger.  Lance got up and chased her for doing that, Hunk runs after them so they don’t fight.  Keith chuckles as they run off. He felt someone grab his arm, looking over seeing Romelle’s big purple eyes staring at him.

“Let’s race!”  She randomly suggests, this girls mind is all over the place.

“Race?”

“Yes, I’m very fast!”  She announces, Keith smiles.  Thinking her attitude was adorable, kind of like a child’s mindset.

“Alright.”  He got in a running position with her.  “Ready… get set… GO!” He shouts, the two bolt off.  Keith ran normally, surprised Romelle was keeping up well.  Then, out of nowhere, she bolts ahead. Keith’s eyes grew, she was going abnormally fast.  Stopping at the cliff at the end and cheering.

Keith airbends to gain speed and finally caught up to her.  He takes a few deep breaths before he could speak.

“I told you I was fast!”

“Romelle… how did you do that?”

“I ran!”

“No, how did you do that?  Gain speed so fast?”

“Oh that?  Dunno, it feels like something is surrounding me and so I use that to gain momentum… that’s the best way I can describe it.”  She tells him. Keith comprehended what he was told.

“You feel something around you?”  He tries to make her repeat herself.  Romelle just nods.

“Does that sound weird?”  She asks, Keith shook his head.

“No, not at all.”  He says, then smiles.  “Race ya back?”

“Yes!”  She says happily, girl had a lot of energy to spare.  “Ready, set, GO!” She began to run back, Keith ran after, watching to see if she’ll do it again.  Just like that, Romelle started up again. She sped ahead, Keith airbends to catch up to her.

Romelle laughs and jumps in joy, happy that she won.  Keith nods and pats her head.

“Yeah yeah you won.”

“I’m faster than the Avatar!”  She says.

“Yes you are.”  He says. “Now go help Lance catch Pidge.”

“Okay!”  She ran after Pidge, Keith could hear Pidge scream in terror.  Probably because Romelle was catching up so easily. Keith walks over to Shiro, who was sitting next to Matt, still buried.

“How’s it going over here?”  He asks. Matt looks at him with a smile, Shiro was sitting on the sand, feeling the warmth of the sun.  Not controlling his body temperature at the moment. 

“You okay?”  Shiro asks. “Something seems to be on your mind.”

“Well I wanted to ask you something.”  Keith asks, Shiro nods, telling Keith to continue.  “Well… can someone learn how to bend. Say like if I wasn’t the Avatar and I couldn’t firebend, could I learn how to earthbend?”

“Well you’d have to find a teacher, the badgermoles, they’d teach you to earthbend.  I’m not sure.”

“It’s a possibility.”  Coran spoke up. “Sometimes a person has the ability to bend, they just never had someone to teach them or get them going.”  He said. “Why do you ask?”

“Well… Romelle.”  He looks over at her, she was holding Pidge down while Lance had water above her.  “I think she can airbend.”

“What?!”

“We raced, cause she wanted to.  Anyways she just rushed past me. I could only catch up by airbending after her.  She told me that she’s always had that ability.”

“Really… Romelle quit harrassing Pidge and come here.”  He says, Romelle looks over and walks up to Shiro. Lance quickly snaches her up and the two started to wrestle on the ground.  Romelle stops in front of them and looks at Shiro.

He grabs his airball from Black’s back and bends it at Romelle.

“Think fast.”

“EEK!”  She ducks down as the ball flies by.  Keith caught it and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What the hell Shiro?”  He asks, genuinely confused.  He tosses it back.

“That’s how I taught you.”

“Yeah, but I had a basic understanding of it.  I think she can, not I absolutely know she can.”

“Romelle.”  Shiro says, she gave him a sad look.

“I refuse to trust you and any of your words spawn of evil!”

“Just come here.”  Shiro tosses it lightly to her.  “You told Keith you can feel some sort of energy around you.  You think you can control that energy and put it in the ball?”

“In the ball?”  She asks while looking at it, Shiro nods.

“In that ball.”

“I don’t know if I can.”  She held it up to Keith. “Show me.”

“Hey I’m not the te-”  She shoves it in his arms.

“Show me.”  Keith sighs and held the ball up, the ball went up and started to levitate with air.  Romelle stares at it and then points, looking at Shiro. “You expect me to do that?”

“You say you can feel some sort of force is surrounding you, I want to know if that’s true or not.”  He says. “If it’s true then you have the ability to make that hollow ball levitate.”

“Can you do that?”  She asks. Keith tosses it to Shiro, he makes it levitate, giving Romelle the look.  She just stood there. “Okay, so you can.” Shiro tosses it back, she caught it, it fell out of her hands, she stumbles a bit then caught it again.  Giving Shiro a determined look.

“Now make it levitate.  Focus all that energy around you, and focus it on that ball.”

“I-I don’t know if I can.”  She says.

“Keith told me that you are incredibly fast.  You focus that energy behind you, making you run faster.”  He says.

“But that’s a lot easier.”

“Because you’re use to it, also it’s more wild and a much larger space.  You have to concentrate on making that ball levitate.” Shiro says, Romelle pouts.  However she complies, she closes her eyes and concentrates. She tried to focus that energy around her into that ball, both Keith and Shiro watch.

Then both saw the ball go up slightly, her hair blowing in the wind around her.  Her eyes snap open and the ball falls. She looks at it and pouts.

“See?  I can’t do it!”

“You can, you just don’t know how to focus.”  Shiro tells her, Romelle crosses her arms.

“I cannot do it!”

“Romelle.”  He starts. “If I can train the Avatar then I can train anyone, even you.”  He tells her. Shiro smiles, he grabs the ball and throws it back at her.

“Huh?”

“You have the ability to airbend Romelle, but you never had someone teach you properly.  So I’ll teach you how to airbend, also Keith can give you pointers.”

“He was probably the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

“And you had how many?”

“Shut up Shiro.”  Keith smirks. “He’s real patient with new benders, though you won’t pick it up as fast.”

“I bet I can learn it faster than you!”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, I’ll learn airbending faster than you!”  She says happily.

“Alright, we’ll see.”  He says, Romelle laughs and runs back to the others who have now called a truce and were making the ultimate sandcastle.  The other four were quiet.

“You gonna tell her it took you two weeks.”

“Nah.”

* * *

Romelle sat in Keith’s room as she worked on levitating the airball.  Shiro sat with them, watching her attempting to lift the ball.

“Good, just focus on the ball.”

“This is too hard!”  She complains. “Airbending is so difficult.”

“Romelle.”  Keith starts, taking the ball and levitating it with one hand.  “Airbending is the art of freedom, it’s all around you. Thus you have the most accessible bending style known to man.”

“Really?  What about the other arts?”

“Water you need just that, water.  Earth isn’t everywhere. And fire? Well fire is unique, but not like air at all.”

“Why is fire so unique?”  She asks, Keith tosses the ball to her and lit his hands on fire.

“It’s the only art that can be created by will.  Fueled by desires, or as of late, hatred and rage.”  He looks down. Shiro gave him a sympathetic look. “When this war is over, I want firebenders to know that negative emotions do not give you power.  It will eat at you, twist your logic, make you weak at heart.”

“If this journey taught me anything, it’s that these negative feelings play no role in firebending.  The desire to protect my friends, my family. That’s what fuels my powers.” He says as he looks at his hand, curling it into a fist and punching forward, a small flame coming out of his closed fist.  “Knowing that you’re all okay, that’s all I need to bend.” The other two look at each other and smile.

That speech gave Romelle some motivation, she grabs the ball and tried to levitate it again.  She closes her eyes and focused, focus… she felt her face scrunch up. Giving it her all. Both Shiro and Keith watch, then smile at how well she was doing.

“Romelle, look.”  Keith said. Romelle opens one eye then smiles, she got it.  She was airbending.

“I-I’m doing it… I’m doing it!”  She jumps up and began to move the ball up and down.  “I’m really doing it!” She kept cheering, both Keith and Shiro clap for her.  It was like two parents being proud of their child for learning how to walk, or in this case, bend.  She runs off with the ball, Shiro got up and began to chase her.

Keith chuckles and walks up to close the door, only for Lotor to open his door and look out in confusion.

“What the hell was that?”

“Romelle is an airbender.”

“Huh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another airbender Yay!


	22. The Ember Players

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off the episode "The Ember Players". The group sees a play mocking their adventure so far. I wanted to do this chapter so badly so here ya go.

Lance walks around the market close to their hideout, it was a nice day and everyone was actually very kind.  Maybe because Red was right by his side, but Lance made sure that the lion behaved. Patting his head as soon as he heard growling.  Whatever the case it was a blessing to finally find some decent food and have a proper place to store it when he gets back. He can finally buy meat and not have to dry it.

“Lets see…”  Lance says, looking at all the stalls with an almost full basket.  “Got so many things for Shiro alone. Also a lot of those berries Romelle likes, she deserves a treat after all.  Coran said he wanted to try some rhino sausage… I got a few of those. Got Pidge some of that candy she’s been begging for.  Got extra cause I know Matt will snag some himself.”

“Did we get those tea leaves Lotor wanted?”  He asks Red, the lion huffs at him. Lance checks his basket again.  “No I didn’t, thanks for reminding me.” The two walk to a stand and looks at all the teas.  “What kind did he want again? Jasmine?” He asks. Red just looks at all the leaves.

“Can I help you, young man?”  The elderly woman asks. Lance looks at her and nods.

“Just trying to remember what tea he wanted?”  He said.

“You out shopping for your family?  That’s rather sweet of you.” She says.  “I don’t see many young men going out to shop for their family, and by the looks of it, they’re rather big.”

“Ha ha, yeah.”  Lance nods. “The only ones who were awake were my uh… father, and my… brother… who hates going out in public.”

“Oh you’re a sweetheart.  Any woman would be lucky to have a husband like you.”  She says as she looks through her tea leaves to find some for Lance, the waterbender chuckles awkwardly.

“Yeah,  _ she  _ is very lucky…”  He says. Knowing full well that  _ she  _ is at home right now, still fast asleep.  She giggles and hands him the tea leaves. “Here you go young man.”

“But I didn’t tell you what I-”

“These are some of the finest in the market.  Take them.”

“Oh, thank you.”  He smiles and pulls out his gold.  “How much?”

“No payment required.”

“Really?”  He asks, then smiles.  “Oh thank you so much ma’am.”  He bows to her and leaves. He walks around again, thinking he has everything he needs.  He sees another stall, selling a certain someones favorite food.

“Duck!”  He says. He quickly walks up and bought almost a pound of the meat.  “Keith is going to be so happy.” He tells Red, the lion wanted some duck too.  He pouts. “You’ll get some too Red, I promise.” Lance pats his cat’s head, Red purrs, still wanting duck.

They walk back happily, only for something to catch Lance’s eye.  He grabs it and cocks a brow. It was a poster, on it were portraits of some familiar faces.  He looks at it for a very long time, even rubbing his eyes to make sure this wasn’t some crazy hallucination caused by overheating.  It was indeed real.

He grabs the poster and rolls it up, putting it in his basket and began the long walk home.

* * *

“W-What is this?”  Shiro asks, looking at the poster.

“Before you ask, you are not hallucinating.  This is indeed real.” Lance says while pointing at it.  Lotor walks into the outside garden and spots Lance.

“Did you buy any tea?”

“In the kitchen.”

“Yes!”  Lotor walks back in.  The two heard Matt and Pidge fighting for the candy inside, well they’re up.  Keith grumpily walks over, pissed that the siblings woke him up. He looks over Shiro’s shoulder and his eyes went wide.

“It’s real.”  Lance quickly said.  “And yes, that one right there, that’s supposed to be you.”  Keith continued to stare in silent horror.

“Are you sure that’s Keith?”  Shiro asks.

“He’s front and center and wearing his old outfit.  So yeah, that’s him.” Lance said. “That’s you, I assume the one in blue is me.  That seems to be it.” Lance says. Shiro reads it.

“The Ember Island Players presents: The Traitor of the Fire Nation.”  Shiro says. Keith was still silent. Coran walks in all happy and wide awake.

“Morning my boys, what’s happening?”

“This.”  Shiro said.  “You’ve ever heard of The Ember Players?”

“Yes I have, they’re actors who perform in plays and musicals.  It’s quite entertaining.”

“Well while we were on the run, they made a play about us.”

“Hm?”  Coran looks at it, he then points.  “Is that supposed to be Keith?”

“Yes, that is.”  Lance said. Shiro kept looking at it, then back at Coran.

“It’s performing in the town nearby, I say we should go and see what it’s about.”

“Are you sure Shiro?”  Lance asks. “This looks so stupid.”

“And inaccurate!”  Keith finally spoke up.  Romelle walks out, wanting to show Shiro and Keith that she could keep the ball up.  The blond notices what they’re staring at.

“Ooh!  What’s this?”  She asks. Shiro shows her, she reads it and smiles.  “Can we go? I wanna see!”

“No, I’m not going to a historical reenactment about my life.”  He says with anger. Lance got up and tried calming him down. The others walked out one by one.  Hunk saw it and picks it up.

“Why am I not in this?”  He asks sadly.

“Hey I should be in it before you.”  Coran points out.

“I pray to the spirits I’m not in it.”  Lotor says. Pidge kept looking at it.

“I wanna draw on it.”  She says. Matt got an ink pen and the two started doodling all over the faces on the poster.  Shiro spoke up.

“I wanna see what it’s like.”

“It might be entertaining.”  Coran said. “All in favor of going say ay.”

“No!”  Keith snaps.  “We are not going!”  He says as fire spews out of his mouth, Lance held him back by his shoulders.

“Come on Keith, what’s the harm in going and seeing what it’s like?”  Lance asks. “It might be funny, who knows.”

“No!”

“A little self insult is good, it makes you laugh at your own flaws.”  Coran says. Shiro chuckles and nods.

“Yeah, so let’s go.”  Shiro says. Pidge kept drawing, Matt stops and looks up.

“Yeah, it might be fun.”  He says. “I say we should check it out.”

“I guess.”  Hunk nods.

“I’ll go, as long as I’m not in it.”  Lotor says.

“We’ll never know if we don’t go.”  Shiro says. “It’s here tonight.”

“Oh come on.”  Keith grumbles and walks away.  Lance follows him to try and calm him down, his anger was getting out of hand.

* * *

The nine left that night, leaving their pets at home.  They either spoke or were goofing off. Pidge hops on Lotor’s back and smiles, the prince chuckles slightly and carried her.  Romelle wanted to copy and hops on Hunk, who was caught off guard. Shiro was talking to Keith, trying to tell him it would be okay.  Matt and Lance were talking about what they might see. Coran was reading the doodled poster, wondering what he was going to see.

They made it to the theater, it was packed.  Some even dressed up, the group was surprised.  They found seats up on a balcony, 11 in total. They decided to sit.  Lotor, Keith, Shiro, Pidge, and Matt sat in front. Coran, Lance, Hunk, and Romelle sat in the back.  They all looked out, watching the seats on the bottom fill up.

The group waited.  Romelle played with the ball, Hunk watched.  Lance and Coran talked. Lotor messed with his hair, Keith closes his eyes and rests.  Shiro spoke with Matt, Pidge listens while waiting for the play to start.

Slowly the room went dark.  Everyone went quiet, then a spotlight came on, the actor for Keith runs out.  Shiro elbows him and points, Keith smirks and rolls his eyes.

“Ha, idiots.  I got some good food tonight.”  The actor says, Keith nods. Yeah that’s accurate.  Then a random actor runs in, “Keith” firebends at them, the guy was gone.  “Whoops, guess he’s dead.” Keith drops, face full of confusion. He-he wasn’t like that.

Are they assuming he was a sadist?  Yeah he’s killed, doesn’t mean he’s proud of it.  He’d rather have them live if he was being honest.  Just then a dumb looking puppet slowly goes down. It had uneven eyes, and a tongue sticking out, looks like it had a stroke.  Looked so stupid. Oh wait, it’s Black. Shiro was now mad.

“What the hell?  Black looks nothing like that!”  He quietly snaps. Then Shiro’s actor comes down, some skinny man in his old outfit.  He was holding his staff weakly and looks at Keith.

“Halt you killer!”  He says. “That is not the way!  Hurting others is horrible, you should show love and peace around the world!”

“Pussy.”  Shiro says.

“Heh, who are you?”  “Keith” said, “Shiro” responds by being over dramatic.

“I am the one who travels around, teaching the ways of love and peace around the world.  The ways of the monk, my name is Shiro.”

“Nickname, dumbass.”  Shiro mumbles.

“Not everyone knows Takashi.”  Keith whispers back.

“Wait Shiro isn’t your real name?”  Hunk asks, like he was betrayed. Everyone gave him a look.  The story kept going while they were talking. An elderly man walks in, “Keith” airbends at them and laughs as the poor old man was hurt.  Keith was already pissed off.

“I’ll be, you’re the Avatar!”  “Shiro” says. The nine gave the same bored face.

“Guess I am.”  He smirks. “All the power in my hands.”

“That’s not why I’m the Avatar!”  Keith snaps. “I’m supposed to bring peace, I’m not a sadist!”

“Calm down.”  Lance says. The play kept going.  Lotor’s character came in, the prince’s eyes went wide.  His scar was on the wrong side.

“Ha ha!  I have found you Avatar!  Once I take you I shall have my honor back!”  He sounded so menacing.

“I don’t talk like that!  They make me sound so evil!”  After watching the worlds lamest fight the “team” managed to fly away, skipping over Marmora completely.  Well they were glad that they were still a secret. The Fire Nation knows nothing about them.

Then the background changed to white, so they must be in the south.  “Shiro” spoke to the audience.

“This is the Southern Water Tribe, home to benders and villagers alike.”  He says, then notices a bunch of bodies lying around. “Well it used to be.”  The audience got a chuckle out of that. Lance didn’t find it so funny, his eyes went feral.  Hunk puts a hand on his shoulder to keep him from screaming, he was still unhappy.

As the two looked around another performer comes on.  All bouncy and full of joy.

“Oh dear, my whole tribe has been taken out!”  Everyone’s eyes went wide, but nothing came close to the amount of pure shock and horror that was Lance.  He was being played… by a girl… that’s humiliating.

“Who are you?”  “Keith” asked while holding up a match to signify he was going to bend, both firebenders groan at that.

“I’m Lance, a waterbender.  And the best one there is~” She does an over-the-top pose and tried to look cute.  Lance hid his face in his hands.

“Wished it was that easy.”  Keith comments, Lance smacks him in the back of the head.  They kept watching the play, the ones who had their persona on stage clearly miserable.

“Can I join you on your adventure?  I can take you to see the princess of the north!”

“We would love to have you Lance.”  “Shiro” said sweetly. Then Keith’s actor chased her off stage, as to say he was going to hurt him/her.  That scene ends and then the group flies on the high as fuck Black to their next destination. Meanwhile “Lotor” and the other four generals were below.  Lotor was not getting over the fact that his scar was on the wrong side.

“We shall catch the Avatar and I shall gain my honor back!”

“We are with you all the way sire!”  They cheer, Narti’s actress just held a hand up without saying much. 

“Good.  We shall catch them by sailing, surely they aren’t flying or anything.”  The crowd laughs.

“I’m not that dumb.  Seriously I had no way to fly!”  Lotor points out.

“This is kind of boring.”  Pidge comments.

“Our journey at first wasn’t too exciting Pidge.”  Lance says as he lazily watched. The two flew into different areas, at one point meeting the pirates.

“Arg!  We caught the wee waterbender!”  He shouts.

“Oh no, silly me for not noticing!”  She squeaks. Lance buries his face in Hunk.  He wanted it to be over, please tell him it was over!  “I hope you big strong men don’t hurt such a small, fragile boy like me~”  He was killing himself after this.

“Well lost Lance, let’s move on.”  “Keith” said. “Shiro” stops him.

“No, he is a friend!  We must save him.”

“Oh bullshit, it was usually reversed.”  Shiro points out. Everyone, besides Romelle, already knew that.  Keith wasn’t so subtle when it came to his feelings for the waterbender.  Apparently this play didn’t catch on to that.

The two ran back to save “Lance” from the pirates.  Shiro noticed something and whispers to Keith.

“Those are some good actors.”

“Real good lookalikes… wait…”  Keith squints. “Oh spirits I think those are some of the pirates.”

“Oh really?”  Shiro chuckles.  “Lance did you hear-?”

“I heard.”  The first time the group laughed at something.  They saved him/her and left on the dumb puppet, then Lotor’s ship sailed on in.

“Oh I wasn’t late to that!”

“I heard the Avatar was here!”  “Lotor’ shouts.

“He just escaped us.”

“Damn.”

“Sire if I may-”  Acxa’s actress spoke up.

“Talk to me in my good ear!”  He shouts. She walks to the other side.

“She was the one who remembered that.”  Lotor groans.

“Sire if I may, we should go to the Earth Kingdom.  That’s probably where they are headed.”

“Hm, of course!”  He shouts, this guy only yells.  “Onward!” They sailed away. Then it cuts back to the team.

“Look, it’s the Great Divide!  The world’s largest canyon!” “Shiro” said happily.  The group went quiet or a moment.

“Meh, let’s skip it.”  Keith’s actor finally got Keith to laugh a bit.  That got him. Then the background turned blue and a chubby woman with out of control white hair comes out.  That’s Allura?

“She looks nothing like that.”  Keith points out.

“I was about to say, I don’t recall her being on the heavy side.”  Lotor said.

“Welcome to the north, I am Allura and I rule despite me being a woman.”  She said happily.

“Oh spirits this place is sooooo pretty~”  “Lance” comments.

“Can she not talk… please?”  Lance asks. Then a small boat appears and attacks the water tribe… that was fast.  However the play made it look like they lost and the team suddenly ditched them. That was not what happened at all.

“Oh come on, I turned into a freaky fish spirit!”

“At least make it accurate, we clearly lost that day.”  Lotor says, then his actor comes in late again. “Why am I always late?!  Why is that a joke?!” A man playing Sendek spoke.

“You just missed a great battle.”

“Damn, where is he now?”

“Dunno, but look I think I see something.”

“What?”

“Your honor, it’s behind you!”

“Where?!”

“Yoink.”  Sendek jumps in their boat.  “Later losers!” He sails away, leaving the five in the north.  Cuts to the next scene. Lotor began to hit his head over his fist.  Done. With. This. Shit.

They flew to the Earth Kingdom and got lost in the cave, but made it out like it was nothing.  Shiro knew it wasn’t that easy, the other two were glad they didn’t know what happened and didn’t show anything.  They’d die of embarrassment.

Then they made it to a small village.  Everything seemed normal and somewhat accurate.  “Keith” sat on Black, “Shiro” looks around, and “Lance” ran around like a giggly idiot.  Then an explosion came from the side, following it was a man with crazy orange hair and a moustache.

“I just discovered what happens when I mix these two chemicals together!  I’ve created bombs!”

“Who are you mister?”  “Lance” asks.

“I am Corn, the greatest inventor alive!”

“Corn?!”  Coran was angry.  They got his name wrong, he was livid.

“So you invent things?  Why?” “Keith” asks. “Seems rather pointless.”

“Pointless to you, but as you can see I cannot bend!  So I must work on these weapons!”

“I don’t even make many weapons.”  Coran says to Lance, he nods and kept watching.  The actors kept going. Hunk’s actor came on, and they knew when it was Hunk cause a darker chubby man walks in, eating a ton of food.

“Hello, what are you guys doing?”

“Huh, what a fat pig.”

“I would never say that!”  Keith whines.

“Keith, how could you?”  Hunk asks in betrayal.

“Hunk, I don’t think that at all!  I have never thought that!”

“Why is your persona so cruel?”  He cries.

“I don’t know!”  The group watched as Hunk proved to be an earthbender, by tossing a rock.  Wow, how impressive. The nine watched in boredom. Hunk was starting to feel the same anger as the others.  His character was like a stereotypical fat guy who obsesses over food. He has finer tastes than that.

He is a chef for crying out loud.  The siblings wonder when they were going to be in it.  Romelle watched innocently, it was going at a great pace for her.  Slow enough for her to let it sink in but fast enough to keep her attention.

“We will travel to Ba Sing Se!”  “Shiro” said. Then a fat woman walks on.  Corn points at her.

“Halt, it be a fat lady!”  The fat lady wore a shawl and had long blond hair.  The men all froze… it was Swirn.

“Swirn was pregnant, not fat.”

“Oh she’d be pissed if she heard that one…”  Keith says. They all agreed. The story continues as they stopped the drill and went into Ba Sing Se… only to be chased out.  Was anything in this story factual?

Then the Fire Nation attacked.  The “group” fought, Keith’s actor smirks and kills many of the soldiers.  Keith’s face twisted with disgust, making it seem like he was a heartless killer.  The play stopped for an intermission. As soon as that hit Keith storms off, Lance saw that and got out.

“Keith?  Keith, come back!”  He chased after him.  Shiro sighs and got up.

“I’m gonna go get some snacks.  You want something Pidge? Matt?  Hunk?”

“Oh you assume I want something?  Just cause I’m the big guy?”

“You want something or not?”

“Yes.”  Hunk follows Shiro, Romelle got out and ran off.

“Have to pee!”  She squeals, Coran sighs.

“Wrong way to the bathrooms my dear!” He calls and ran after her.  Matt crawls out.

“I’m gonna go find Shiro and buy some snacks, I am parched.”  He says. “Want something you two?”

“I’m good.”  Pidge says, Lotor nods in agreement.

“Okay, be back in a sec.”  He says and walks off. Then there were two.  Pidge looks at Lotor and went to the seat next to his.

“You okay?”

“No.”  He says, Pidge waits for him to continue.  Lotor gave in. “They made me look so heartless and stupid.  I mean, I know I’ve turned against them… but I’m doing this because I feel it is the right choice!  But they all mock me for this choice.”

“So what?”  Pidge asks. Lotor looks at her in anger, but it softened when she gave him a big grin.  “You aren’t a bad guy Lotor. And who cares if they’re making fun of you. We’re your friends.”  She hugs his arm. “So you should only care about our opinion, not theirs. They’re the enemy after all.  And after this, you’ll be the one laughing, cause you’ll be on the throne ruling over the entire nation.”

That got Lotor to smile a bit, feeling a little better.  He pats her head.

“You are right.  I should not let this play get the best of me.”  He says. A kid runs by them at that moment, but stops to look at Lotor.

“Woah, cool Lotor costume.  But the scar is on the wrong side.”

“It’s not on the wrong side!”

* * *

“Keith?”  Lance looks around for him.  How he got so far ahead the waterbender doesn’t know.  He finally found him sitting at a ledge, looking down in anger.  “Sweetie what’s wrong?” Lance asks as he got closer.

“I-”  His voice broke, like he was about to cry.  Lance could tell he was trying to stay strong, trying not to show any signs of weakness.  “I’m not proud that I’ve killed so many. In fact I hate it, I hate doing that. And the fact that my own nation, my home, sees me as a sadistic killer.  It’s… it’s too much.”

Lance walks up to him and hugs him from behind, burying his face in the others neck.  Keith continued.

“I don’t want to be seen as that.  As a killer.” He whispers. “Why do they see me as that?  I never wanted to hurt anyone, I’m the Avatar, I’m supposed to help people.  But now… after seeing that. Seeing that I have killed so many. Why would anyone see me different?”

“Because you’re not a sadistic killer Keith.”  Lance says. Keith continues to stay quiet. “You’re a hero to many.  To the Marmorians, to the North, to every small area you saved. You’ve given people hope.”  Lance says quietly.

“You have regrets, many regrets, but you don’t have to carry them alone.  You have friends here to help you. They have burdens of their own, but we shoulder them together.”  He tells the Avatar. “We can all help you. Just because you’re the Avatar doesn’t mean you have to carry these feelings alone.  That’s why you’re friends are here, to be there for you when you need us the most.”

“I can’t do that to any of you.  Being the Avatar is stressful enough, having one half see you as a hero to end everything, and the other as a monsterous traitor.  I’d feel worse if I had to share this burden with any of you.”

“Then just share it with me.”  Lance says. “I’m here for you whenever you need someone.”

“I can’t-”

“It’s my job as your lover, Keith.  I want to be there for you, if I don’t do that then I’ll feel like I’m failing you.”  Lance admits. “That’s why I followed you, cause I don’t want this stupid play to get to you.  To make sure you know that nobody here sees you any differently.” Keith looks down, grabbing ahold of one Lance’s arms.

The waterbender smiles and placed a soft kiss on the back of his neck.  Keith still felt awful, but he felt better now that someone knows how he feels.  He finally calmed down enough to walk back to the play, seeing Shiro and the rest back from getting snacks.

Romelle walks back with Coran happily.

“This girl could run to the Water Tribe and back and still have energy to spare.”  He says, everyone laughs. They all sat in their spots and watched the rest of the play.  It continues, Matt and Pidge’s characters came in.

Matt was first, played by a weak and scared guy.

“Who are you?  Don’t hurt us! We are but humble farmers!”

“No… no we are not…”  Matt says. “This is my sister Pidge, she is a powerful earthbender.”  A burly buff man dressed in womans attire walks in. Pidge’s eyes grew.

“No… no no no… this was only funny when this happened to Lance!”

“Suffer.”  Lance pouts.  She just stares at her actor as he goes around and throws people.  Was Pidge that violent?

“When I bend, I see everything that the normal cannot.  I do this by creating a shockwave from my mouth.” He/She says, then the unthinkable happens.  “ _ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”   _ The whole autitorium shook, the team all sat back with the same concerned look.  The man screams could take down the Fire Nation if he so desired. His screams died down and smiles.  “I see tanks coming from the East.” Then the tanks come from the opposite side. “Or… the West.”

“Oh come on, I’m not Shiro.”  She points out, Shiro gave her a look.  No need to remind him of his awful sense of direction.  The story was starting to bore everyone. Romelle leans on Hunk and fell asleep, that’s how bored they got.

The group flies off over a city full of soldiers, Corn looks down.

“I’ll take care of this!”  He shouts, then throws a bottle down, it was a bomb.  He laughs maniacally as they left the dead soldiers. Keith laughs with him.

“How could you!”  Matt’s character cried.  “They had families!”

“Fuck them.”  Matt said.

“I must agree, killing is not the monks way.”

“Oh spirits why is my character like this?”  Shiro groans. Hunk’s character kept eating, he barely has any lines.  Hunk was actually offended, he has said a lot on his adventure. Guess teaching Keith earthbending means nothing to this nation.

The ending was now starting and they all have to admit it was the most half assed ending they’ve ever seen.  First of all the siblings got arrested, they got offended, mainly because that’s what happened to their parents.

Lotor’s generals left him, the excuse was that his hair was too long.  Also Narti randomly passed out, so she died by sudden… ah fuck it it was the lazy ass play writer.  They left him, he had nowhere to go.

Shiro flew away from all the fighting like a wuss.  Hunk went with him. Corn died by a bomb going off, at least he died in a cool way.  Lance’s character was captured by pirates, then it got to Keith’s character. He was fighting the Fire Lord.  Aaaaaaaand he died. The end.

Everyone claps, except for the group.  They all got up and left. Hunk carried Romelle out, Lance had Pidge on his back, she was almost out.  Everyone else walks normally.

“That was awful.”  Matt said.

“I’ll say.”  Lotor said.

“My name is not Corn.”

“At least they didn’t get your damn gender wrong.”  Lance points out.

“Let’s just forget we ever saw that.”  Shiro said. “And admit that Keith was right, that this was a terrible idea.”

“Yeah, next time you should listen to me.”  He pouts. “Let’s just go home and begin our plan to gather allies.”  He says, everyone nods and went back to their nice secluded hideout.


	23. The One Who Killed Eni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOOO SORRY! I have been dealing with life issues and have been trying to get this chapter done. Also someone wanted me to do "Ponyo" Klance, and I'm writing Blind Eyes, and I'm working on my instagram comic Starstruck. So i've been writing three other stories as well as this one. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it and I do love returning to it. It's a lot of fun and it helps me practice fighting scenes. Enjoy this chapter, this is one I have been wanting to write for a long time now.

“Promise me you’ll be safe.”  Pidge says as she hugs her brother, he chuckles.

“I’ll be fine.  Shiro and I are going to the Earth Kingdom to find Sven and the Omashu Kingdom.  We’ll stop by Marmora and be back before you can even bat an eye.” He tells her, Pidge looks down.  She hugs her brother again, even tighter, and prays to the spirits that he’ll be safe.

“Now remember to keep everyone safe, and make sure Romelle keeps up with her training.”  Shiro says as he puts the last box on Black, Keith groans.

“Yes “Dad”, you don’t have to remind me.”  The Avatar said. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, everything will be just fine.  The base will stay the same when you return.”

“Good, everyone be good.  Matt and I will return in two suns.”

“Okay.”  Hunk nods.

“Hurry back.”  Lotor adds.

“Stay safe you two.”  Lance adds.

“We’ll be back.”  Shiro says, Matt waves them goodbye.  The whole team waves back, praying their friends will be safe.  Once they were out of sight they all stopped.

“Well I’m going back to that thing Pidge wants me to work on.”  Coran chimes up.

“I’m gonna practice my metalbending.”  Pidge says.

“Speaking of practice.”  Keith smirks at Romelle, the airbender pouts and follows Keith out.  Lance, Hunk, and Lotor look at one another in silence.

“You guys want to hang out or…”

“I have nothing to do.”  Lotor says. Lance nods saying he’s in.  The three walk inside to do whatever.

* * *

Matt was messing with his staff, looking at the sky.

“Man, we’re really on the final stretch.”  He says while looking at Shiro. The airbender smirks at his friend and pushes his head down into Black’s fur.  The non bender lets out a chuckle.

“It’s been a long journey for sure.  Keith and I sometimes talk about the past, even Lance joins in.  I can’t believe how fast time has gone by. Makes you see how much has changed.”

“Like what?”

“Well Keith didn’t want to be the Avatar at first, flat out denied it and refused to learn the other elements.”

“No way, that sounds nothing like Keith.”  Matt says.

“Well that’s what he was like.  Things change.”

“I guess.”

* * *

Romelle motions her hands to make an airball, then it disappears.  She huffs and pouts on the ground. Keith was watching her, sighing at her pouting.

“I can’t do it!”

“Romelle-”

“No!  I can’t!”

“Romelle.”  Keith says. “It takes time.  You’ve got to keep practicing.”

“But I’m not getting it as fast.”

“I’m the Avatar, I’m a natural at bending… also I had way more to learn so don’t give me that.”  He says, she pushes him away with airbending, not wanting to hear him anymore. Keith growls and pushes her with airbending, causing her to fly away.

Lance walks out with a tray, Red right by his side.  He gives them a look and groans.

“I can see that the training is going well.”  Lance said as he puts the tray down. Keith looks at the tray and takes a cup.

“Tea?”

“Yeah, Lotor and Hunk are having a competition to see who can make the best tea.  So I made some to give to you guys… I just needed to get away from them.” Lance says while looking tiredly in the direction of the kitchen.

Keith took a sip while Romelle crawls back and took a drink.  Lance pets Red and looks at them.

“So how is it?”

“I can’t do it!”  Romelle squeaks out.  Lance gave a weak smile.

“You sound like a certain someone.”

“Shut up.”  Keith pouts.  Lance smiles sweetly.

“I’m gonna tell you what I told him, no arguing, no giving up, and no saying your awful and you’ll get it.”  He says, Keith nods.

“That advice works.”

“Doesn’t sound like it works.”  She points out, Lance smirks.

“I got this idiot to waterbend.”

“Idiot?”

“So I’m sure you can master airbending if you just keep at i-EEEK!”  A wall of earth went up below his feet, now he was at the top of it. “Keith, let me down!”

“Nah, I’m an idiot so I don’t know how.”

“I’m serious!  Let me down!”

“Not happening.”

“Keith!”

“Sorry Love, can’t help you.”  Keith went back to teaching Romelle.  Red was looking at his owner with a worried look.  Meanwhile inside the tea battle continues. Coran pokes his head out with worry.

“Can someone deal with those two, Pidge is on her fifth cup of tea.”

“I feel like I can take on the Fire Nation alone!”  She cheers from the inside.

* * *

The kingdom of Omashu was still in hiding after Shiro had helped them along with Keith and Lance, it feels like forever since they’ve seen them last.  The bison lands and many people run up to greet them. Shiro hops down, Sven runs up and smiles.

“Shiro.”

“Sven.”  The two hug.  Matt hops down and looks around.

“Good to be home…”  He comments and wanders around.  Sven continued to talk to Shiro.

“It has been so long, what are you wearing?”

“This?”  He looks at his red clothes.  “Oh I’m in the Fire Nation right now, have to blend in ya know.”  He says. Sven nods. “Listen Sven, the end is near.”

“Hm?”  He was giving Shiro a questioning look.

“If I may, I’d like to speak to both you and the king.  We have a plan to take down the Fire Nation… but we can’t do it alone, the Avatar can’t do it alone.  We need everyone’s help.” He says, Sven smiles and nods.

“Let me see what I can do.”  He says. They made a meeting arrangement with the king, Matt joins them and spoke as well.  They all began to talk about plans for when the time came for war.

“We have a friend named Hunk who will be leading the earthbenders to battle.  That is who you will follow. However he is a peaceful man, so Sven, you’ll have to take charge.”  Shiro says.

“Can do.”

“Matt will be with the Marmorians and a few others, like our friend Coran.  The Avatar and I will be the ones facing against the Fire Lord. Wherever he may be.”  Shiro tells them.

“So you want us to watch your back?”  Sven asks.

“That’s the basic idea.”

“So Hunk and Lotor think you should be here.”  Matt points, Sven and the king look over and listen to the others battle strategy.

* * *

Romelle runs around with Hunk in town, having a great time looking around.  Hunk had to make sure she didn’t run off out of nowhere. Hunk was now kicked out of the kitchen for a while so he decided to do Lance’s job and go shopping, which is probably for the best.  Hunk knows which food is best.

Lance may be getting better, but he doesn’t have that “special eyes”.  The eyes Hunk has for food. Meanwhile Romelle was running around like a headless chicken.  Grabbing at random things and playing with kids, she was a literal child herself. Hunk wonders what her life was like before joining the team.  She seems a little off, doesn’t act her age at all.

Shiro and Keith seem to treat her like a daughter, Lance has been talking to her like a child, even Hunk has caught himself a few times talking to her like she doesn’t understand.  But Romelle does understand, just doesn’t seem like it.

“Hunk!”  She calls, he and Yellow look over.  “Can we by candy?”

“No.”

“Boo.”  She pouts and puts the fire candy down, and continues to run around.  The airbender then stops dead in her tracks, sensing something odd. She got closer to the weird sight she saw.  Peeking over and looking at the soldiers talking.

They were talking about things she didn’t know about, but she understood what they were doing.  Planning for invasions, these men were going to the Earth Kingdom to strike when the comet came.  She sees one scary looking man walk up and speak to the other men.

“I say we go to one of those villages before they burn down, see what we can take before the carnage.”  They all laughed and agreed. Romelle quickly runs back to Hunk, the men looked over, but she got away in time.  

“Hunk Hunk Hunk!”  She ran into him, the earthbender freaks out when she rams into him.  “Hunk Hunk Hunk Hu-”

“What?!”

“I-I saw bad men!”

“No surprise, we’re in the Fire Nation.”

“No!  Like bad men who are going to the Earth Kingdom to hurt people!”

“That usually happens… not uncommon.”

“B-But isn’t your family from the Earth Kingdom?”

“Yeah, we’re all natives.”

“We should stop them and keep your family safe!”  She says. “You can bend, you have that ability to protect people!”

“Romelle I’ve had this ability for as long as I can remember and trust me, it’s never done anything good.”  He says, Romelle was confused.

“But bending gives us the ability to fight and protect.”

“Bending brings nothing but death, I will never use my powers to kill.”

“But-”

“No.”  Hunk snaps.  “I lost everything thanks to benders!  I will never hurt someone like they’ve hurt me!”  He walks off, Romelle looks back, then follows Hunk back home.  She’ll tell Keith what she heard.

* * *

“No.”

“What?”

“We are not going after them.”  Keith says. He was relaxing in his room when she barged in, feeling kind of annoyed that she ruined his relaxing time.  He barely gets that anymore.

“But Keith!”

“No buts.  I am not letting anyone in my family run off on some suicide mission.  You don’t have to get involved so don’t.” He says. “I said I’d protect everyone while Shiro was gone and I’m gonna do just that.”

“Keith!”

“Final!”

“What’s going on in here?”  Lance peeks in, Red looking in with him.

“Nothing.”

“So nothing woke Red and I up?”  He sassed, Romelle ran right up to him.

“Lance!  The Fire Nation is going to attack the Earth Kingdom.”

“They’ve already done that Romelle.”  He says with a tired voice.

“But they’re going back!”  She says. “They said-”

“Romelle, we’re not going after them.  We’re staying here, final.” Keith scolds.  “I sound like Shiro… Spirits…”

“Just go back to practicing Romelle, everything will be fine soon, trust us.”  Lance says, she pouts and storms off, no one will listen to her. Lance sighs and sat next to Keith on the floor.  “She’s a lively one isn’t she?”

“She’s wearing me out.”  He leans against Lance. “I’m so exhausted.”  He nuzzles into his shoulder and tries to sleep.

“Are you falling asleep?”  He asks, Keith gave a lazy nod.  Lance chuckles and lays back, Keith groans and follows him.

“Don’t move, asshole.”

“I want to sleep too.  You two woke me up with your arguing ya know.”  He says with a playful smile. Keith pouts and nuzzles into Lance again, he was sound asleep in a second.  Lance chuckles again, he lays flat on his back and lets Keith cuddle to his side. Red went on the other side of Lance and sat with him.

He was between a rock and a hard place.

Meanwhile Romelle stomps around the house, Pidge and Lotor were in the kitchen eating bread and jam.  They saw how upset she was. She pours tea aggressively and sat on the counter as she drank it.

The two look at her, then look back at one another.  They didn’t want to bring up why she was so upset.

“So how is your invention coming along?”  Lotor asks.

“It’s hard, I’ve never had to sew before, Coran has been a lot of help though.  But as of late he’s working on his own inventions.” Pidge says and kept staring at Romelle.  She took a large sip of tea then pours some more, spilling a lot of it. Lotor couldn’t stand by and watch that.

“Is everything alright Romelle?”  He asks. “You’re spilling the spirits gift all over the floor.”

“I’m mad!”

“Clearly.”

“Can you tell us why you’re mad?”  Pidge asks.

“They’re gonna attack the Earth Kingdom-”

“What else is new?”  She went back to her breakfast, Lotor left the conversation as well.  Romelle groans, more people won’t listen to her, she storms out. “So anything new with battle strategies?”

“Nothing much, just waiting so I can go up north to gain their trust.”

“Good luck.”

“I’m really gonna need it.”  He says with a nervous chuckle.

Romelle storms past Coran’s room, who was dead asleep, then Hunk’s room.  He was still awake. Reading a book while Yellow was on his stomach. She goes in uninvited and pouts on the floor.  Hunk looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah okay, sure, just break into my room.  Screw privacy.” He says in a sarcastic voice.  She continues to pout.

“I hate this!  Everyone is telling me not to worry about it, well I’m worrying about it!”  She says, then stood up. “You know what? Screw them! I’ll go out myself!”

“Wait wait wait!  Romelle!” He grabs her tiny wrists and pulls her back.  “We’re not going after a random group of Fire Nation soldiers.  We’re getting ready for the big attack against here, not some common soldiers.”

“I don’t care!”  She snaps. “I hate it when people attack for no reason other than pure cruelty.  It’s what took my family, and it’s what Hinna did for years!” She pulls away aggressively and storms off.  “I can bend, and I will use that ability to protect the people of the Earth Kingdom!”

“Wait!”  He ran up.  “I’ll come with you.”  She gave him a questioning look.  “You’re still learning how to bend, Keith would lose it if someone he loved got hurt.  So I’ll protect you, that’s what I use my bending for.” He tells her, she smiles.

“Alright.  Onward!” She ran ahead, Hunk groans and runs after her, Yellow runs up onto his owners shoulder.

* * *

Shiro and Matt flew into the Earth Kingdom, making a stop somewhere before they went to Marmora.  Matt looks around at the farm they landed on, confused.

“Where are we?”

“Allies that I had made long ago.”  He says. “Olia! Are you still here?”  He calls, the brunette runs out and greets Shiro.

“Oh Spirits, you’ve returned!”  She says in shock. “I thought… I mean I-”  She shook her head. “I never thought I’d see you lot again.  What are you doing out here?”

“You said you had a group of rebels with you?”

“Oh yeah, we’ve grown in numbers as of recently, but we’re willing to fight.”

“Are you benders?”

“Heh, hardly.”  She chuckles. “But we’re strong still.”

“Trust me, I don’t doubt you.”  He says and points at Matt. He waves.  “Listen, everything you need to know will be here in this scroll.  I had my friends make another one for you. If you wish to join us and help then come here on the day of the comet.”

“Got it.”  She nods. “You can count on my friends and I.”

“Great.  We have to go to another stop, but we will see you during the war.”

“Yes.”  She nods, Shiro smiles and walks back to Black.  He hops up and sat next to Matt, the younger boy smiles.

“You womanizer.”

“Shut up.”  He pushes him.  “I already have a love.”

“Yeah yeah.”  Matt lays back down, going to the Marmorian base.

* * *

Romelle walks around, trying to find the men from before, but having a hard time with the large amount of people.  Hunk looks at the stalls and other people, trying to see if anyone looks like Fire Nation soldiers. So far nothing.

“I swear they were around here.”

“Listen, I know you care about this… but why are we looking for some soldiers who are going to pillage again?”

“What if it’s your wife?  Your family!” Romelle says in anger.  “We’re going to stop them.”

“I know…”  They kept walking around, trying to see if they’d find anything.  Soon enough Romelle heard the noises. She grabs Hunk’s arm and followed the same raspy voice.  They stopped and she points.

“It’s him…”  She says, Hunk tried to look but a man stood in front of them.  Catching them both.

“Can I help you two?”  They both froze, Hunk panics and grabs Romelle’s arm.

“Uh no sir.  The wife and I are just going for a little stroll is all.”  He says with a nervous smile, Romelle nods, the same fear rising up.

“Yeah, just us and the cat.”  She says while looking at Yellow, the cat’s fur rising.  They raise an eyebrow.

“Okay…”  They walk off.  “Carry on then.”  The rest of the soldiers walk off, Hunk and Romelle watch them go.  Then Hunk froze, his whole body went tense. The man he was looking at him gave him a look.

“You okay sir?”  He asks, the same raspy voice.  Romelle noticed and nods.

“Y-Yes, he’s fine.”  She said, he nods and continues to walk with his men.  Hunk watches him leave, all fear turning into sadness. He backs away, into a stall and falls to the ground.  Romelle follows him and sat next to him. “You alright?”

He didn’t answer for a while, he just froze and continued to feel pain.  Romelle began to rub his back, hoping he’d calm down. He slowly looks at her and shook his head.

“That man…”  He slowly says.  “He’s the one who killed my family…”

“What?”  Romelle sat there in shock.

“He was the one who killed my baby sister, the one who murdered my parents… the one who made me an orphan.”  He looks up, Yellow rubs up against his face. “I can’t…”

“Hunk…”  Romelle got in his face.  “I’m sorry for this. If you don’t want to help me, I understa-”

“No.”  Hunk grabs her.  “This is why I joined in the first place.  To hopefully find this man and get revenge for my family.”

“But Hunk.”  Romelle starts.  “Revenge isn’t in your nature.”

“I know… but Shay told me that this will clear my conscious.  A-And she’s always right.” He picks at the dirt, earthbending a few pebbles away.

“It might not help you.”  She got up and looks over.  “I’m still going. You go back home, I’m gonna stop them.”

“Romelle-”

“I’ve lived my life in fear, hurting countless people because of this war.  I will not have it continue.” She runs off. Hunk watches her leave, not knowing what to do.

* * *

Romelle goes from tree to tree, the fact that they’re moving on a dirt road in a forest helps with her hiding.  She was gonna stop them from getting to the Earth Kingdom, that was a promise. The group stops their carriage and rests near a mountain, perfect.  She slowly hops down and walks out. One man spots her.

“Oi, looks like a mouse got lost.”  One shouts, another looks over.

“Wasn’t she that large lads woman?  What she doing out here?” They ask, she just smiles at them.  She takes a stance, the group was wondering what she was doing.  Then in a split second she kicks down and sends a massive airwave down.  The group lost their balance. One man ran at her with a blade, she creates a quick shield and kicks the mans face.

Since she used airbending with her physical attacks it hurt ten times more.  She creates an airswipe and pushes the others away. This is airbending she can get behind.  Not all controlled and in one spot, no Romelle’s way was more wild and all over the place. She loves feeling free and energetic with her bending.

She kept flying around, letting the men run into one another or sending an air strike at them.  Romelle was doing fine on her own, till one man caught her. He wraps one arm around her neck, the other around her arms, pinning them to her sides.

She tries to bend with her legs but she was having a hard time kicking them up.  The man chuckles, a low raspy voice. She felt her body grow cold.

“So this little rat is an airbender in disguise.”  He growls. “Liar, tell me little one. What other lies have you told?  Was that man really your husband?”

Romelle glares, her violet eyes screamed fear, but she has been in this predicament before.  She knows how to be brave. With a strong swing of her legs she smacks the man’s legs with a powerful air kick and got out of his grasp.  She sucks in a strong breath and proceeds to run away. Airbending as fast as she could. Then… the mountain stops her. She looks up at the tall wall before her.

The man’s chuckle grew closer, knowing she’s been pinned.  She turns around and looks at her attacker. He grabs her neck and held her up, she was too focused on breathing to airbend, she was panicking.

“First I’ll end you, then I’ll throw your husband in jail, then I’ll go to the Earth Kingdom and burn every last village to the ground!  They’ll learn to surrender themselves to the Fire Nation!” He snaps, Romelle began to whimper. She was losing all the oxygen in her body, she was growing weak.  

Then the earth below them shook, the man looks down.  Then they shot up into the sky, he lets Romelle go. She makes a cushion out of air, but she still landed with a thud.  She slowly sat up and looks over at the cause of the earth wall flinging the man up.

What she saw surprised her, Hunk, with the darkest face she has ever seen him wear.  His stare never left the man before him, he fell to the ground with a painful thud. Hunk walks over and stares the man down.  Before he could speak Hunk cut him off.

“You don’t remember me… do you?”

“What?”  The man growls.

“Years ago you went to the Earth Kingdom and you visited a peaceful little farm area run by a small family.  Ring any bells?” Hunk hissed, the man suddenly felt fear and confusion.

“I-I’ve seen many places like that-”

“Then let me clear your memory!”  Hunk forced the man’s body down with earthbending.  “Two loving parents with two kids. A sweet little four year old girl with the cutest face!  Does she ring any bells?!” He snaps. “You stabbed her and ripped her open! You killed Eni!”  The man’s scared face went wicked.

“Oh… oh I remember you.”  He chuckles. “You were the one we couldn’t catch, you ran away, while she cried and cried for you-”  Yellow hops down and scratches the mans arm, the man screams and throws Yellow. Romelle caught the fluffy cat, still hissing and wanting at the evil man for antagonizing his owner.

“Son of a-”

“I’ve finally have you.”  Hunk states. “After all these years, I can finally bring peace to my family name, and to avenge my parents… and Eni.”  He lifts the man up on a wall and places rocks around his body to crush him.

Romelle watches Hunk violently crush the man before him, sadistic look in the calm man’s eyes.  She was too afraid to stop him, plus this was his revenge, he had to do this. For his father, his mother, hi-

“ _ Tsuyoshi? _ ”  A small voice asks, though only he could hear it, no one else did.  He slowly looks over next to Romelle, seeing how frightened the blond girl was.  But the one who spoke to him was standing next her, bit brown eyes full of sadness.

“ _ Tsuyoshi… why you doing this? _ ”  It was Eni… but how?  “ _ You would neber hurt someone… neber… _ ”  She clutched onto Romelle’s pants and looks at her brother.  “ _ Don’t be like him… don’t be a monstew.  You are bettew than dis. Much bettew Tsuyoshi. _ ”  She walks up to him and gave him a smile.

“ _ You don’t have to kiw fow me.  Just live youw life Tsuyoshi… just live. _ ”  She started to fade away into sparkles, a beautiful sight.

“ _ I love you, big brother.  Thank you fow evewything. _ ”  And thus she was gone.  Hunk felt tears fall from his face.  Was he hallucinating, or had his sister come back for a brief moment?  He didn’t know, nor did he care. He pushes the man against the mountain side and looks at him.

“I’m not a killer… not like you.”  He says to the man.

“What?  Kill me you coward!  I’ve taken everything from you!  Your family! Your beloved little sister!  You’re gonna let me live?!”

“Yes.”  Hunk said.  “I may have lost my family, and I’ll miss them everyday.  But I’ve grown from that experience, and became a better person.  I’ve made friends, and a new family. One who loves me and accepts me.”  He says with a sad smile. “I know that my parents and Eni are happy for me, happy that I got to live, and proud of what I’ve done.”

“Which is why I won’t stoop to your level, I’m no killer.  I never have been, and I will continue that way of living. Cause that’s how I live, how I choose to live my life.”  He walks up to Romelle, who was smiling at him. He takes his cat back and walks away, leaving the man stuck to the mountain side.

Soon his earthbending will fade and the man will be free.  But Hunk didn’t care, he wasn’t a killer. Romelle was right, it wasn’t his nature to kill.  But in a way, that’s a good thing. Maybe if he can show others the way of peaceful bending, the ways of pacifism.  After the war is over, that’ll be his goal… his teachings.

That no matter what, violence isn’t always the answer.


	24. Promises and Prisons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay forgive me if this chapter sucks. I am sick, dizzy, and tired. I wanted to finish this chapter, for some odd reason it's long, and now that it's done I can work on the next chapter. It's almost over folks.

Shiro and Matt return on time, they had met with everyone and they all know the plan.  Meaning up next was Keith and Lotor, who had to go up north. Lance hands Lotor a coat and spoke to him, giving him something in secret for the Chieftain.  Allura was a kind woman and a fair leader, she’ll listen to him if he just stays calm. Also her and Keith are best friends so that’s a bonus on the prince’s part.  He’s friends with Keith, he’s an ally, so hopefully Allura understands.

Shiro was leaning against Black, whispering to him reassuring things, also to listen to Keith.  Which Black will, Keith is technically family now. Black cares for Keith as much as the next guy.  Is he Shiro? No. But Black loves him all the same. 

Keith throws the last bag up onto Black’s back and sighs.  He does not want to leave his friends alone for any period of time.  He wants them to be near, and the thought of being away makes him anxious.

He felt someone snake their arms around his waist.  He sighs, knowing who it is.

“Don’t worry, everything will still be here when you get back.”

“I just don’t like leaving you guys alone.”  Keith turns a bit to see Lance smiling at him.

“I know.  But you have to do this, Allura and the others will listen to you and hopefully Lotor can gain an alliance with them.”  Lance says. “As the Avatar you have responsibilities, one of those is to bring peace and bring the nations together.”

“I know…”

“Everything will be fine Sweetie.”  Lance reassures him. “Now I want you two to be back in two days, three tops.”  That got Keith to chuckle.

“Okay…”

“I mean it.  I don’t like it when my family is separated either.  Especially you.” Lance brushes his bangs out of his face.  “I like it when my lover is with me.” Keith smiles at that.

“I’ll be back in three days.”

“You better be.  Got your good luck charm?”  

“Always.”  Keith held up the rock necklace.  Lance smiles.

“Good.”  The two share a brief kiss before Keith airbends on.  He grabs Black’s reigns and the two Fire Nomads wave their friends off.  They share their farewells and off to the Northern Water Tribe. Keith saw how tense Lotor looked, he was nervous.

“It’ll be fine.  I promise.” Keith says.  “Allura is pretty easy going.”

“I hope.  She seemed fine when I last saw her.”

“To be fair we were all in a state of panic.”

“You became a fucking fish.”

“Yeah… I remember that.”  They continue to fly north, which wasn’t too far away from where Keith originally started.

* * *

Romelle copies Shiro’s moves, giving her her own staff to train with.  She mimics his every movement. Everyone watches, Lance feeling some nostalgia.  Remembering when Keith use to copy Shiro’s moves to master air.

Hunk walks out with a tray of biscuits he made and watches with Pidge and Lance.

“Man, they’re really going at it.”

“Yeah.”  Lance nods.  “Where’s the other two?”

“Matt and Coran?  Building things they need for the war.”  Pidge says. She takes a biscuit and takes a small bite.  “Can you believe it’s almost over?”

“Not really.”  Lance says. “Can’t believe it’s been a season.  Feels like years have passed.”

“And you’ve been here longer than us.”  Hunk says as he puts a berry on his biscuit.  Lance smirks and gestures to Shiro.

“Talk to him, he’s been with Keith since the beginning.”  He says. “Anyways, what is this big thing you’re working on?”  Lance asks Pidge, she looks over while picking at her half eaten biscuit.

“Um… it’s a small thing…”  She says. “Coran has been helping with it.  He’s made a suit that helps me shoot snakes.”

“With metalbending?”  Hunk asks, she nods proudly.  “Oh sweet!”

“I’m helping the airstrike.”  She says. “Since I can go up, Coran might help me when Matt takes over the non benders with the Marmorians.”  She says. Lance nods, actually impressed.

“I’m helping the earthbenders, it’s gonna be crazy.”

“They went to our turf, payback is a bitch.”  Pidge tells them, Lance chuckles then looks down.  He doesn’t know what he’s gonna do. He pets Red and lets his friends talk.

Man… he’s useless.  Allura will lead her people, if they help, so helping the waterbenders, the many many waterbenders, seems unreasonable.  He mentally hits himself and thinks about what he could do to help. He should do something to help, he’s been on the Avatar’s side since they first met, he wants nothing more then to end the war and wants to see his family again.  Wants his tribe to prosper again.

Now he’s here, in the Fire Nation, eating biscuits, petting his lion and talking about war plans.  This is not how he thought his life would turn out. The two went on to talk about family and what they’ll do about it.  Pidge mentioned that her parents were captured by the Fire Nation and thrown in jail, saying how she wants to find them, that got Romelle to speak.

“Jail?  A prison?  One’s nearby.”  She says, Pidge looks at her with shock.

“Huh?!”

“Yeah, Hunk and I were exploring and it’s over there.  Far in the forest on the other side, but it’s a big prison.”  She points.

“It is?  Show me!”

“No-”  Shiro steps in.  “I promised Keith that everyone is going to stay safe.  He is worried enough, I don’t want him to come home to a dead friend.”

“Matt!”

“Pidge, no.”

“What?”  Matt pokes his head out one window.

“There’s a prison near here!”

“What?!”

“No.”  Shiro snaps, sending a wave and pushes Matt back inside.  “We’re staying here, you can free them later, when we win.”

“What if we don’t win?”  She asks in anger.

“Way to have faith in us.”  Lance says offhandedly. Hunk chuckles at that.

“I’m going, I’m my own person, a powerful bender.  I can do what I want. If it’s something about my parents then I’m going.”

“If not?”  Shiro asks.

“Then I’ll save others.”  She says. “I’m going!”

“Me too!”  Matt runs after his sister, the Holts were out.  Shiro groans and practices with Romelle again. Coran walks out and sits in the spot Pidge was in.

“Well this is where everyone is.”

“Hey Coran.”

“Hello.”  He takes a biscuit and ate.  “So what’s the plans after this war?”

“Everyone’s excited about that.”  Lance comments. “I don’t know.”

“Go home I guess.”  Hunk said. “I want to start my teachings there, where I can show peaceful bending to all-I see you rolling your eyes Lance.”

“Heh, from one master to another, I find that silly.”

“Master?”  Hunk asks.

“You and Pidge are masters, hell you’ve trained the Avatar, that deserves master status.”

“Heck yeah, master airbender!”  Shiro says happily. Everyone laughs and continue their conversations or training.  Romelle was getting the hang of it.

* * *

The North was as cold as ever.  Lotor puts his coat on and watches them land, everyone cheering and praising the Avatar.  Keith waves to them and lands Black. He hops off, everyone surrounds him. Hakka runs up and hugs Keith, he smiles and returns the embrace.  Allura walks out with her guards and leopard. She sees Keith and about tackles him, the two best friends reunite again.

“I’ve missed you so much!”

“I’ve missed you too Allura.”  He says as he holds her close. The two seperate, she notices Lotor hop down, she gapes and points.

“You-”  Lotor waits for the hate.  “You’re the man with us in the oasis, when Keith merged with La!”

“Uh… yes.”  He nods. “I am Prince Lotor, next in line to the Fire Nation throne-”  Everyone gasps, except Allura. She stays quiet, wanting him to speak. “I am friends with the Avatar, as well as his other companions.”

“It’s true.  Lotor wishes for change, so we have decided to work together to end the war and bring peace across all nations.”

“How are we to believe that?”  One guard asks.

“Lotor was captured by his own people and was to be arrested.”  Keith states. “I had to rescue him.”

“Also.”  Lotor shows his burn.  “My father gave this to me.  Also made me deaf in my right ear.”

“Well now I know to stand on your left side when we speak.”  Allura says politely. “I’ll give you a chance and you have my trust.”

“Thank you Princess.”  Lotor smiles in relief, they were right, she was easy to talk to.

“Now let’s talk about war.  We’ll discuss details at our banquet tonight.  You two may do whatever you please while walking around.”  She tells them, they nod. Keith decides to hang with Allura for a while.  Lotor talked to Hakka, the man actually met his father. Lotor felt comfortable with him, he knew that Lotor grew up in a harsh environment and welcomed him with a friendly smile.  The two talked about the past and other things about the tribe, something Lotor loves to learn about and could listen to it for hours.

Keith walks with Allura as she discusses her army and how it has grown since the inclusion of women.  Keith nods and listens, till he notices she wasn’t wearing her necklace. He points at his neck, silently asking where hers was.  She laughs.

“Keith you were there when I took it off.”

“O-Oh yeah… I forgot.”  He says. “Been a while.”

“It has.”

“So what was the point of the necklace?”

“A betrothal necklace?”  She asks, Keith nods. “It is a marriage offer.”

“Like with rings?”  Keith asks.

“Rings?  Seems pointless in a tribe where we all wear gloves.”  She says as she held her hands up. “The necklace symbolizes love for one another.  You make a design and give it to the one you wish to marry, it is the same in the south as well.”  She tells him, Keith has never heard something so unique and creative.

“So… you need to make the design yourself?”

“Young men mostly do it, I have never tried… but yes.  You make a design yourself.”

“Can I try?”  Keith asks, playfulness lighting up his eyes, she cocks a brow at him.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m an artist, I see a new form of it I have to try it!”

“Keith, these necklaces have meaning.  They are not some fun way to be creative.”

“I wanna try it!”  He says. “Come on, I won’t give it to anyone.”

“I’d be more worried if you weren’t.”

“I’m already taken by someone, please?”

“Since when?!”

“Since a while ago, please Allura?”  He begs. She groans and leads him to the place where the necklaces were made.

“You take an ore, make a design, put jewels on it if you want, then boom necklace.  Have fun, I expect to see you at the banquet.” And with that, she was gone. Keith looks at the ores.  He takes his sketchbook out and made a rough sketch of what he wanted.

He really wanted to make this look good, and the idea sounded challenging enough.  How do all young men do this? He takes a round piece of metal and used firebending to make a tiny tool hot so he can mold out the design.  He was finding this to be a lot harder than drawing, it wasn’t looking good, but he was stubborn.

Meanwhile outside Lotor finds Allura walking away from the building Keith is currently in and back into the castle, Lotor follows.

“Where is Keith?”

“Being an “artist”.”  She says. “What are you doing?”

“Oh staying away from your people who want to kill me.”  He tells her.

“They’ll grow to trust you soon enough.”

“You trust me?”

“For now.  You haven’t wronged me yet.”  She says as they walk in. “So why change sides?  Didn’t the Fire Nation value honor?”

“Yes, but my Father is an honorless man.”

“Something we can both agree on.”

“Right.”  Lotor nods.  “I feel that this war is pointless and must end.  The Avatar can bring it to an end and we can all live in peace.”

“That is what I hope for in the end.”  She says, the two walk around the castle while the Avatar was fighting with ores.

* * *

Pidge and Matt look around at all the soldiers walking around.  They slink back and talked to one another.

“So how do we sneak in?”  She asks, Matt looks back at the soldiers.

“Uh… we could get arrested ourselves.”

“What?!  Shiro would have our heads!  Then Keith would find our spirits and banish us forever!”

“Well what should we do?”

“I dunno.  Lemme think.”  She says and thinks about it.  She looks around the area, then smirks.  “I’ve got it.” Matt looks in the direction of where his sister is pointing.  “I can follow the movement of their carriages.

“I can take us underground and we can follow them to wherever they’re going.  If our parents are there then I can break them out through metalbending. Clear?”

“Spirits I wish I was a bender.”  Matt groans.

“Hey I’ll need you to protect me and watch my back.”  She says, they wait for it to be clear. The carriage was off.  Pidge grabs Matt by the waist and goes under with him, she follows the vibrations caused by the rhinos and the heavy carriage.  Matt just watches as Pidge closed her eyes and concentrates on the movement.

* * *

Keith looks at the necklace and pouts, it looks awful.  He looks at it and wonders what to do to make it better.  It’s so… plain. He groans and looks at all the other things in the material boxes.  It didn’t seemed all that organized.

He scavenges through and found a red ore, or gem.  Ruby? He doesn’t know. He grabs the gem and started to carve it and put it on the necklace to see how it looks, it looked beautiful.  He smiles and found another ruby to make it. He kept carving it and used firebending to fuse the gemstones together. He looks through to see if anything else would make it better.

“Keith?”  Lotor calls, Keith looks over to see the prince walking in.  “Dinner is ready, Allura wanted me to come get you.”

“Oh, yeah yeah.  Give me a second.”  He puts the necklace down and got up, Lotor looks over and sees it.

“Hm… it’s beautiful.”

“You think so?  It looks plain to me.”

“No it’s lovely.  Unique and not what the tribes would do… but it’s lovely.”

“Oh so I didn’t do it right?”  Keith asks, looking a little disappointed.

“You’re from a land that values extravagance.  Unlike the Water Tribe who doesn’t seem to mind.”  Lotor says. Keith looks down at the necklace, it was a lot fancier than Allura’s.  Lotor was right, the Fire Nation is a lot more extravagant than the Water Tribe.

All the gold and gems they use, to show their status.  Heck Keith had always wanted beautiful things growing up, but that was just because powerful people had those things.  Jewelry, gold, silk clothes, and shoes. Keith doesn’t even wear shoes anymore, it’s to help with his earthbending, but still, no shoes.

He got up and follows Lotor out.  Walking around the castle halls and ended up at the banquet.  It was full of generals and other important people. Allura had two empty seats next to her.  Keith took the one next to her, Lotor follows and sat next to him.

“Now that everyone is hear, let us begin our discussion.”  She says. They all ate and began to talk.

“So what is your plan for us?”  She asks Keith and Lotor. The prince clears his throat and began.

“Well I thi-”

“I prefer if the Avatar were to tell us!”  A general snaps. Allura glares at them.

“You will not speak out of turn!”  She looks back at Lotor. “I am sorry, please continue.”

“Are you sure?”  Lotor asks.

“You are the one making the plans, is that correct?”  Allura asks, Lotor nods. “Then you may speak. Lotor sighs and continues.

“So your role in the war is to provide navy support.  If we work hard and bring all able benders as well as non benders, then we can take down the Fire Nations navy.  Thus I want you to lead them.” Lotor tells Allura, she smiles and nods.

“As Chieftain I accept.  No one else should hold this job but I.”  She says, Lotor gave a sincere smile and looks at the others.

“Do any of you have objections?”

“Yes, why should we listen to you?  Also we shouldn’t put our beloved leader at risk!  She has no heir, and she is still a child.” One general snaps, Allura went back to her meek self.  Keith stood up and looks at him.

“Because I, the Avatar, say she is the only one fit for the job!”  He snaps. “I know Allura just as well as all of you and I know she’s skilled enough to lead you all to battle!  I will be busy with fighting the Emperor, so I need to know if I can trust the people below!”

“You are of the Fire Nation yourself, why should we trust you!”  Another man snaps, Keith grew angry.

“Why you-”

“Because the master of the south wishes for Allura to lead.”  Lotor spoke up, everyone looks at him in surprise.

“The master of the south?  Impossible!”

“Possible, we know the southern master.  He gave me this, a letter telling all to listen to our requests.  He knows the Chieftain and wishes for her to lead.”

“How do you know this is the southern master.”

“Cause he trained me.”  Keith said, the others grew quiet.

“He is a young man still, but he shows leadership skills and is quite the fighter in both bending and non bending, seeing as how he’s beaten me in both regards.  Also he has connections with your spirits, so you might want to stay on his good side.” Lotor says, Allura’s eyes went wide.

“Lance…”

“This seems ridiculous.”  The same general says. “This boy’s writing is awful, and you can tell he is young and inexperienced.  Also he has done nothing to help his or his sister tribe at all. I deny his order, he has no place in war.”

“Excuse me.”  Keith spoke up.  “Lance has done quite enough for this war, in fact all of my friends have done enough.  More than you probably.”

“I doubt it.”

“Do you?  I lost one of my friends due to this war!”  He snaps. “And let me tell you this, they were a proud member of the Fire Nation like Lotor and I!”

“Then she deserved to die!”  The general snaps, Keith sends a needle at the man’s throat, learned that one from Lance.

“I will not have you say that about Narti!  She was an amazing woman who tamed dragons despite being impaired!”  He snaps. “I will not have you speak of her as a villain! She was an amazing friend, a caring woman, and loved by an Air Nomad!  You have no right to speak of her in that way!”

“All of you be quiet!”  Allura snaps. “Listen, I say we listen to Lance.  He is a master in his own regard and is friends with the Avatar.  He was supposed to be a general here, do not forget that!” She tells her generals, they all went silent.  Lotor looked impressed. The banquet ends and everyone leaves, now knowing the entire plan.

Lotor catches up with Allura and speaks with her.

“Well, that was quite the interruption coming from you.”

“So sorry.”  Allura sassed.  “I am a Chief though, not some delicate princess.”

“Who said I found it awful?”  He asks. “People from the Fire Nation value strong people like you.  We find it… attractive.” He says with a smirk and walks away, leaving the Chief embarrassed.

Meanwhile Keith went back to his necklace.  He put a sapphire on it, making it a perfect circle.  He puts small holes in it and held it up, he smiles. It was perfect.  He surrounds it with water and cools it off. Then he dries it with airbending and puts a blue ribbon around it.

He stuffs it in his pocket and walks out, seeing Allura faceplanted into the ice wall of the kingdom.

“Uhhh…. What are you doing?”

“Cooling my face off.”

“Why?”

“Cause it’s hot, that’s why!”  She looks at Keith, she was blushing like crazy.  Keith smirks and leans against the wall.

“Alright… who embarrassed you?”

“The prince!  He-He says weird things with no shame!”

“Yeah… that’s Lotor.”

“Jeez.”  She tried to compose herself.  “Anyways how did the necklace go?”

“Oh, it’s okay.”  Keith shows her, Allura looks at it in awe.

“Oh my, it’s beautiful!”  She says. “It’s a shame that it’s for no one.  It’s gorgeous.” She tells him, Keith smiles.

“Thanks.  I thought it was too flashy.”

“Kind of, but it’s unique, in a beautiful way.”  Allura said. Keith smiles and puts it away. He looks at the night sky, Allura smiles and does the same.  “The north’s sky is the most beautiful. I will do anything to protect it.”

“Which is why we need to win this war, so we can protect the things we love.  You love your tribe and will do anything to protect them.”

“Yes.”  She smiles at him and looks back at the sky.  “I’m glad I could see you again Keith.”

“Yeah, me too.  I’ve missed you.”  He says, she grabs his shoulder and gives him a side hug.  The two look out at the sky again before hitting the hay for the night.

* * *

Pidge and Matt looks around the entrance of the prison.  They looked for an easy way in. Pidge could see that their wasn’t earth on the other side.  Pidge grabs her brother and they look around. Matt sees something that no one was noticing, an opening.  

He grabs his sister and held her up to help her in.  She crawls over and tells him to look around, he does and gave her the thumbs up.  All clear. She bends the earth beneath him, he jumps up into the hole and high fives her.  The two crawl into the prison and goes into the main room. The guards walk around, the two wait for them to walk around.

The two sneak past him and look at the long halls full of sad looking jail cells, that aren’t even full.  Pidge and Matt looked around and saw the empty cells.

“What is this place?”

“The prison.”  Matt tells his sister.  “But why are these so empty?”  He asks. She shrugs and looks around.  Matt points at something. “Katie, look!”  He says quietly. They look at the door, it was a large metal door that no normal person could go in without getting caught opening it.

But they weren’t metalbenders.  Pidge got into a stance and metalbends the door off, causing a loud THUD to come from it as it lands.  Matt grabs her and hid in a cell. Acting like prisoners. The guards came in and looked at it. Wondering how it came off, it was a heavy ass door.

“How did this come off?”

“I dunno.”  They kept asking one another.  Then they turn to the two siblings.  “You two. How did this happen?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  It just came off.” Matt said.  They stayed in the dark corner to stay away from the soldiers.  They ran off to warn the other soldiers that something happened.  A siren goes off. The two siblings ran out of the cell and into the other room, full of metal.  It was full of benders who were arrested. They looked around, they looked like different benders, mostly earthbenders.

They kept going, the siren going off and off.  They hid again as soldiers ran by. They waited for it to be clear.  They heard something break, a vent? They see an empty cell’s vent came down.  A woman hops down, she looks middle aged, forty or so. She had dark hair in a rats tail like style and pale skin, overall gorgeous figure.  Not much for breasts covered by a white wrap, but wide hips and a great ass. She wore tight red leggings with an orange wrap around her hips that really defined her body.  Pidge got distracted by her stance. It looks familiar.

The woman tries to find her way out of the cell.  She firebends the bars until they melt a bit, then she kicks them off.  She slides out, Pidge gasps at her face. She had beautiful cat like eyes, purple in color, and a serious look on her face.  She looks at Matt and Pidge.

Her eyes went wide, in anger.  She walks over to them and points at them.  

“You… you two set the alarm off!  Didn’t you!”

“Well… maybe you did.”  Matt says in fear.

“Not me, I am a master spy.  I am a master amongst my people.”  She says. “Now what are two kids doing here?”

“We’re here to find our parents thank you very much!”  Pidge snaps, the woman glares at her.

“So we’re on the same page?”  She asks. The two look at her with confusion.  “I’m here to find family, to see if any of them are here.”  She says.

“Well since we have the same ideas, I guess we should work together.”

“I’m not one to turn help away.  But why should I work with you?”

“Because.”  Pidge points at the door.  “I did that. I’m a metalbender.”  She says with a snarky tone. The woman nods.

“Okay, I see that we should work together.”  She says. “But I’m in charge. Metal girl, you come with me.  You.” She points at Matt. “Watch our backs, if someone comes at us then you attack.”

“Oh sure, make the non bender fight.”

“Yeah, cause non benders are the ones people should fear.”  She says. “My leader is a non bender, and I respect him more than anyone I have ever met.”  She tells him. “Let us go.”

“Right.”  She looks at Matt.  “Be careful.” She hugs her older brother.

“Same goes for you.”  He smiles at her. “Find our parents.”

“I will.”  She nods and runs after the woman.  Matt stays in the shadows and waits for people to come in.  The two stop and look around while a soldiers. “By the way, my name’s Katie Holt, but everyone calls me Pidge.”

“Krolia.”  The woman says.

“Krolia?  That’s a pretty name.”

“Same goes for Katie.”  She says with a smile. “Now let’s go.”  She runs out, Pidge follows her. The two woman see soldiers run at them.  Krolia stood her ground and firebends at them violently, it looks so familiar.  Pidge metalbends a bar off and throws them at them, then wrapping it around the two.  Before more come in Krolia grabs her and hides in the shadows.

“You are too loud.”  She whispers.

“Sorry, but earthbending and metalbending.  Not the most quiet or graceful.” She sassed, Krolia pouts and looks back out in the halls.  She looks outside and gave another serious face, Pidge cannot put her finger on it.

Krolia got up and runs again, Pidge follows and finds a lot of earthbenders and people from the Kingdom.  She looks for her parents, nothing. She gave a horrified look. One prisoner got her attention.

“Oh my… you look like that woman who was here before.”

“Huh?”  Pidge runs to them and got on her knees to talk to them.

“But… you look like you’re from the Fire Nation.”

“I-I’m from the Earth Kingdom.  Tell me, please, tell me where they went!  That woman, was she with a man? Where did they go?”

“I do not know… some say they went to a different prison to work.  The woman tried fighting them, but the man gave in so easily.” He said.  Pidge nods, sounds like her parents. Her mom is a fighter, a real queen. She looks up to her mom, the one who taught her how to bend.

She felt like tearing up, so they weren’t in the prison.  Krolia walks up and looks at Pidge, she hugs the woman she had just met and cried.

“Do not worry Pidge.”  She says. “You will find them soon.  And I know they’ll be proud of you when you reunite with them.  Both you and your brother.” Krolia gave her a smile. Pidge nods and walks into another room.  Pidge decides to help Krolia, even though she can’t find her family, that doesn’t mean Krolia shouldn’t find hers.

They looked around and see more full cells full of skinny and depressed people.  Damn, this is cruel. What’s worse is that they’re from the Fire Nation. These are their people.

Pidge stops when she hears Krolia’s horrified gasps.  She runs to a cell, Pidge follows.

“Heith!”  She says, the man wasn’t moving.  “Oh spirits…” She was about to cry, Pidge metalbends the bars off so she could go in.  Krolia takes it immediately and runs to the body. It was such a malnutritioned man, weak and skinny.  Also shaggy hair and beard, how Krolia could recognize him was amazing.

“Heith?”  She asks. He slowly looks up at her, his face went from sad to shocked.  But the most pathetic looking shock ever.

“Krolia?”  He asks in a weak voice.  “Spirits, where have you been?  How long has it been?”

“Far too long.”  She smiles and firebends the chains off.  He flops down and held him close. He looks at her and smiles.

“Damn, years pass and yer still so beautiful.”  He says, she giggles a bit. The young girl is seeing something for the first time in her life, true love, love that has been there for years and it hasn’t faded.  Damn, it hurts her heart. It’s too precious, too beautiful.

She picks her husband up and looks at Pidge, who was gaping at how strong she was. 

“Let us go.”  She says, Pidge nods.  They ran out, people watching the muscle woman carrying a poor soul out.  Clapping for them, wanting them to escape. Matt catches up with them. He sees Krolia carry someone, he points at him.  Pidge nods.

“Husband.”

“Ah.”  They snuck out through the way they came in.  Apparently the hole Pidge and Matt had found was made by Krolia.  They carried Heith out and ran far from the prison, not getting caught and only a few people can describe what they look like.  They hid in the forest and made a small campsite.

Heith looks at all of them while Krolia still holds him.  She firebends at a small circle that Matt and Pidge had made to start a fire.

“Who are y’all?”

“I’m Mathew, this is Katie.  We’re from the Earth Kingdom.”  He says. “We’re looking for our parents.  You?”

“Name’s Heith, and this woman is my wife Krolia.”

“We’ve met, but hello again.”  She says.

“What happened to you?”  Matt asks.

“Ah, a long time ago… I was… I was protecting our son.  I made a promise to Krolia that I’d keep him safe from the lies of the Fire Nation.  So I did. Not knowing his true potential.” He sighs. “So I did the unthinkable. I killed a soldier who tried taking my son away.”  He said. The two Earth Nomads gape at him. He killed a soldier.

The four didn’t really talk much after that.  Krolia was not as talkative as her husband, the two whispered to one another till Heith fell asleep.  Krolia waits till it’s safe to fall asleep herself.

* * *

The next morning Lotor and Keith say goodbye to the north.  Allura hugs Keith, he hops on and waits for Lotor. The prince takes Allura’s hand and gave it a peck.

“I hope to see you again, Chieftain.”  He says. Allura goes back to being defensive and looks away.

“Yes, I hope we can bring peace to our tribes.”

“Yes, I hope that as well.”  He climbs onto the bison and the two wave off and flew off.  They were in the sky and were finally on their way back home.  Lotor looks at Keith and starts a conversation.

“So… how did the necklace go?”

“Good I guess.”  Keith takes it out and shows Lotor, the man raised a brow and smirks.

“So, you gonna give it to him?”

“Huh?”  Keith’s face changes color.  “Uh… I-I don’t know.”

“Why not?  I’m sure he’ll love it.”  Lotor says as he looks at the necklace.

“Yeah, but what if he thinks it’s too soon… or-”

“Jeez, the whole point of you making this is so that you make it official before the war.  So what’s the point if you aren’t going to give it to him?”

“We haven’t been together for very long, I don’t want him to think I’m desperate or something.”  Keith says as he takes it back. “I’ve had feelings for him a lot longer than he even knows… I just… I don’t know if he truly feels the same about me.”

“Keith, Lance has mentioned before that he plans on staying with you once the war is over.  So I think we all have a good idea how he feels about you.” Lotor says. “Just take the damn chance.”  He lays back. Keith nods and waits for the Fire Nation to come into view.

* * *

The bison lands, everyone runs out to greet their friends back.  Keith hops out and was tackled by Hunk. Coran comes next, then Romelle.  Lotor climbs down and walks over to Shiro.

“They know the plan and have agreed to it.  Though it took some negotiating from both of us, as well as Allura.  But I think we’ve got a deal.”

“Good.”  Shiro says.  Lotor looks around.

“Don’t mind me asking, but where are the siblings?”

“Oh they had to run off.”  Lance mentioned as he walked out.  “Because of course we can’t all stay together.”  He looks at Lotor. “So it went well?”

“Yes, the Chieftain has a lot of work ahead of her in order to gain equal rights between the sexes.”

“Yeah, the Water Tribe do see women differently, though that only applies to the north.  Us southerners never knew why.” He says. Keith finally broke out of the embrace and walks up to Shiro.

“So where did Matt and Pidge run off to?”

“A Fire Nation Prison.”  Romelle said. “They want to find their parents.”

“Oh great.”  Keith groans.  “You went along with it?”

“Fuck no, no one did.  But those two were stubborn as all hell and went out anyways.  Knowing them they’ve managed to escape somehow. They’ll be home soon enough.”

“Well we have all our allies up and ready, we just have to wait for the comet.”

“Which is how soon?”  Lance asks.

“Soon.”  Keith says.  “We’ll know when it’s time.”

“Well that means I’ve got to get to work on my inventions, as well as Pidge’s.”  Coran says and walks back in.

“Yeah and I have to keep training if I’m gonna be of any help.”  Romelle adds on. Everyone nods and goes back to doing whatever. They had to wait for the Holts to return, which was not soon at all.

* * *

Night rolls by, Lance was leaned against the side rail of his room and looks out at the moon.  He was sitting there, thinking about the war. How scared he is, how weird the idea is, and how he feels a little useless.  He wasn’t going to help the Water Tribe, he thinks, nor was he leading anyone else or helping them.

He had to think of a way to help, but nothing was coming to his head at the moment.  He just looks at Tui to see if she has the answers.

“I’d thought I’d find you here.”  Keith says, Lance smiles and went back to looking out at the sky.

“Yeah well, you know me.”  He said. “I need her more than ever now.”

“Why’s that?”

“The war… I feel uneasy.  But that’s mean being paranoid again.”  Lance says, Keith smiles.

“You’re a lot better about it though.  You haven’t been super paranoid over small things in a while.  I say that’s improvement.”

“Heh, yeah I guess.”  Lance looks at the sky.  “So did you have fun up north?  Or was it all business?” He asks, Keith says nothing.  He thinks about what he still has on him. In his damn pocket.  He grabs his own necklace and rubs the stones. He was so nervous, and it’s stupid to be, but spirits this was awkward.  “Keith?”

“What?”  Keith jumps, Lance raised a brow.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh uh… yeah… uh… m-mainly work.  But you know Allura. We’re best friends so… it was kind of fun.”  He says, Lance smiles and looks back at the sky.

“Good.”  He says quietly and continues to gaze at the moon.  Keith took a deep breath and spoke.

“Lance?”  The waterbender looks back at him.  “You-what are you going to do after the war?  If we win that is.”

“Why are you asking?”

“Just curious.”  Keith said. Lance shrugs.

“I dunno.  I can’t imagine us separating, even though I know that’s gonna happen.”  He says. “I want to help my tribe and make sure they’re all okay. I know you’ll probably have to stay in the Fire Nation… so after that I guess I’ll come back and be with you.”  He says, Keith hesitates.

“You really want to be with me?”

“Of course.”  Lance said.

“Why?  If I may ask.”

“Heh, you may.”  Lance looks out. “I was drawn to you I guess.  At first I’d deny any sort of feelings for you, playing it off as friendship.  But after seeing you care for me so much, and seeing how I was important to you… I guess my feelings grew from friendship into love.”  He looks at Keith. “Also you’re just an incredible person. Awkward and stubborn? Yes, but you’re also a giant teddy bear and just an absolute sweetheart.”

“I couldn’t help but fall in love with you Keith.”  Lance admits, Keith looks down. He smiles at how sweet it was.  No one has ever really complimented him like that.

“I feel the same.”  He says. “I mean different reasons and all, but I love you just as much.”  He sounded like an idiot, Lance chuckles. Keith grumbles and spoke again. “You know what I mean.”

“I do.”

“But… I want to be with you to.”  Keith says, Lance raised a brow. “I’ve loved you for so long, ever since the north I’ve been infatuated… though I didn’t want to admit it either.  Because I was from the Fire Nation, and you were supposed to stay north. But you came with, and I couldn’t stop myself from loving you.”

“It is awkward to admit, but I’m glad you’re with me.  I didn’t think anyone would ever put up with me.”

“Well my stubbornness can battle yours.”  Lance said.

“Oh and you are stubborn.”  He says, Lance laughs again.  “But I want to say something…”  Lance looks at how serious he had gotten, he didn’t like where it was going.  “You know that this is war, and that people die-”

“No Keith.”

“Just listen.”

“I don’t want to hear about the chances of you dying cause it won’t happen!”

“Lance, just hear me out.  I’m going somewhere with this.”  He begs, Lance’s cold stare didn’t leave.  But he did listen. Keith sighs, thank the spirits that he was actually complying for once.  “I may not make it, or… you won’t. I don’t want to think about that, because I love you, I love everyone here.”

“But that’s war.”  He looks at Lance. “You can say no, and get upset at me for doing this… but this was just in case something bad did happen.”

“Huh?”  Lance saw Keith reach into his pocket and pulls the necklace out.  Lance was frozen where he stood.

“I-I want to be your husband.  I wanted to make it somewhat official before the war.”  He says. “Again, you can say no, but I just… thought it be something, in case something had happened.”  He says. Lance reaches his hand out and takes the necklace, studying the design. It was a pattern of fire made out of rubies, surrounding what looked like water.  The top was a small sapphire in the shape of the moon.

He kept staring at it, staying silent.  He was speechless, hell what was he supposed to say?  He didn’t think the talk of death would end up a proposal.

“You made this?”

“Up north, yes.”  He said. “I wanted it to be perfect, and trust me I got mad several times making it.”  He tried to lighten the mood. Lance looks at the necklace, then he brought it close to his face, he started crying.  Keith felt bad, oh spirits he messed up.

Lance wasn’t happy, was he.  Jeez Keith should’ve known this was a bad idea.  Why did Lotor talk him into doing it? He sees Lance look back up, still crying, but not looking as sad.

“You better not die on me.”

“I-I’ll try, but does this mean you accept?”  He asks. Lance wasn’t frozen anymore, he walks up and hugs Keith tight.  He felt him nod, Keith felt all the weight leave his shoulders. He was so relieved, and happy at the same time.

Lance pulls away and puts it on, it wrapped perfectly around his neck.  He smiles at it and looks back at Keith.

“So I guess I’m your fiance.”  He teases. Keith nods.

“Yes you are.”

“I never would’ve imagined that I was going to marry the Avatar.”  He says. “Guess the world is a strange place.” He says. The two were happy, even in the most depressing time, they were happy.

However it was cut short due to Shiro shouting.

“They’re back!”  Everyone runs out to see.  Knowing full well it was the two siblings, and now two more people.  This team just keeps adding on…

“Hey, sorry it’s been a while.  We ran into some new friends though.”  Pidge says as she looks at Krolia. She looks at Shiro with a serious look, Shiro was stunned by who she resembled.

“Please, let me put my husband somewhere he can rest.”

“Yes, of course.”  He says. “Hunk, can you take him off her ha-”

“I wish to take him myself!”

“Ma’am I need to ask you a few questions.”  He says. Keith and Lance walk out to see what was happening.  “So let us take him, I can get our healer to check him over and you can be with him.  But for now I suggest-”

“YOU!”  Keith practically screams.  Krolia looks over at him, her face went from annoyed to shocked.  Almost like she was about to cry. “You-You’re the woman I saw in the swamp!  That Marmorian!”

“You’re a Marmorian?”  Shiro asks. She said nothing, just kept staring at him.  “Uh, this is our friend and sort of leader of our group. His name is-”

“Keith.”  Krolia said.  She hands her husband to Hunk, who was now watching the woman walk up to their friend.  She cups his face and stares at him, almost as if she was about to cry. She brought him close in a hug and smiles.  “You’ve grown so much, son.”

“What?”  Keith’s eyes grew, everyone froze.  The Marmorian that he was searching for this whole time, was his mother?


	25. Mother of the Avatar

Keith sat in his room, alone to his thoughts.  He was confused, that woman he had found… was his mother?

* * *

_ Krolia kept hugging him, he pushed away and looks at her. _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “What do you mean “son”?!”  Keith snaps. “My mother died, that’s what father told me!” _

_ “To protect us both Keith.”  She says. “We can talk about it with your father later.” _

_ “But-” _

_ “We can catch up later.” _

_ “But you can’t be my mother!”  He snaps. “You aren’t her!” Krolia looked hurt.  Lance grabs Keith’s shoulder to calm him down. Pidge spoke up. _

_ “Keith… you look just like her.” _

_ “I do not!” _

_ “Looks, posture, you are her kid.”  She says, Keith pushes Lance off and storms off.  He doesn’t want to talk to anyone. _

* * *

He groans and lays back on the matt he calls a bed.  He looks up at the ceiling, wanting his brain to go to sleep.  Shiro walks in and sees Keith looking at the ceiling.

“Hey there.”

“Hi.”  Keith sat up.  “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on you.”  Shiro leans against the wall.  “Seems like you aren’t taking this family reunion well.”

“Shut up.”

“You found the mysterious lady and now you wish you hadn’t found her.”

“Just… didn’t think she was my mom.”  Keith hides in his knees. “Is she upset with me?”

“I’m sure she is.”  He says. “But no parent likes to hear that from their child.  She brought you into the world.” 

“I know… but she’s been gone all my life.  Shitty parenting if you ask me.”

“I’m sure she has her reasons.  Just talk to her at some point, preferably soon.”

“Okay.  Goodnight Shiro.”

“Yeah, night.”  He walks away.

* * *

“Well from what I can see is that he’s very malnutritioned.”  Lance says as he screws the cap on his skinsack shut. Both Krolia and Heith look at Lance with worried looks.  They were both sitting on the bed in the room, the only room with an actual bed. Everyone decided no one should get it to make it fair, but for the sick man, they made an exception.

“What do we do to help him?”

“Well we have to get your strength back.  So you need to eat, but nothing solid till you rebuild your mass.”  Lance says while looking at the two. “So at first I say tea and curry.  Things like that.”

“Nothing solid?  Not even soft foods?”  Krolia asks.

“His body won’t handle it well.”  Lance tells her. “I’ll check on you everyday to make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay.”  Heith says.  “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.  Come on Romelle, stop staring at them.”  Both adults jump when they saw Romelle peeking over the side of the bed.  The two leave, Red right behind him, the two adults didn’t notice Red the entire time.  What a weird group they’ve met. 

Romelle runs back to her room while Lance goes to talk to Keith.  The Avatar was still awake. He looks at Lance and sat up.

“How is he?”

“Well he’s weak.”  Lance says, standing in the doorway.  “I’ll check on him daily to make sure he doesn’t get sick.  He needs to build up body mass again.” He looks at Keith and smiles.  “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He’s strong, kind of like someone else I know.”  Keith smiles at him.

“Thanks Honey.”

“Anything for you.”  Lance walks back out.  “Goodnight.”

“Yeah, night.”  He looks back outside, falling asleep soon enough.

* * *

The next morning everyone was in the garden area, Keith sees his mom in the kitchen eating.  He decides to walk to his parents room to see if his father was awake. 

“Hello?”  He says. He sees his father wide awake and looking around.  “Dad!” He runs to him and hugs him. Heith sees him and laughs.  Hugging him back with his weak arms. The two look at each other, Heith started crying.

“Look at you.”  He says. “You’re all grown up.  Where did the time go?”

“Into a forgotten past.”  Keith says. “I’m so happy.  I never thought I’d see you again!”  He hugs his father tight. Lance walks in with a tray that had a bowl of curry, a cup of tea, and a cup of something else.  He sees him awake and smiles.

“Good morning sir, and I see Keith is here.”

“He’s allowed to visit right?”  He asks, Lance chuckles. He nods and puts his food down on a table next to the bed.

“You hungry?”

“I think so, I didn’t get a lot to eat in that prison.”  Heith says, Lance takes the bowl and stirs it up.

“Our friend Hunk made this, I told him to try and blend everything as fine as possible.”  He says.

“Hunk is a great chef Dad, you’ll love it.”

“Oh boy.”  Heith sat up a bit, Keith could see how thin his father had become.  It was disgusting and horrifying. His father use to be as big as Shiro, now he’s a twig.  Lance ignores the Avatar’s pained face and fed the poor man. “I forgot to ask you, what’s your name?  And what are you doing out here in the Fire Nation.”

“Long story, far too long.  Basically your son and his friend, Shiro, found me near dead in the south.  They took me in and I’ve been with them ever since.” He says. “My name is Lance.”

“Lance?  That’s a nice name.  Unique too.”

“Yeah my parents liked different sounding names.”  Lance says. “Now what’s your story, if you don’t mind sharing.”

“I was just a dumb man who wanted to protect his son.  That’s all.” Heith says while looking at Keith.

“Did he do something stupid?”  Lance asks with a chuckle. Keith pouts at him.

“No, he was bending and then someone came after him.  My son is a powerful bender and all…”

“Well that makes sense.”  Lance says. “So what was it?  Just powerful firebending, or was it another element?”  Lance asks, Heith just looked a little surprised. “I know he’s the Avatar.”

“Y-You do?”  He asks, both boys chuckle.

“The entire team here knows.”  Lance said as he hands the cup to Heith.  “I was his teacher in waterbending.”

“Sadly.”  Keith comments, Lance looks at him.

“Watch it now.”  He warns. “But everyone in this little “family” knows and has worked with him.  We’re a little rebellion.”

“Rebellion?”  Heith asks, Keith looks down.

“To stop Zarkon.”  Silence fills the room, Heith stares with horror.

“You’re gonna try and stop our Emperor?”  He asks. “Why?”

“Because he’s evil.  He’s killed my past life and her family, he’s abandoned his son, treats his people like peasants, and has harmed the other nations.  The lives of my found family have been ruined because of him! He’s planning on domination, on using a comet to burn everything down!”

Heith gave his son a worried look.  He doesn’t want him to do that, he could die.  He just got his child back, and has seen his wife again.  He doesn’t want to lose them again.

“I know it’s dangerous, and you do not approve.  But it’s my job as the Avatar.” He tells his horrified father.  “I have to keep peace between the nations.”

“Why you?  Why not the leaders?”

“Cause with a dictator like Zarkon, there is no reasoning.”  Lance hissed. Keith pats his shoulder to calm him down, Lance takes a deep breath and lets his body relax.  “Your son is the only bridge in this world. Bridge between all the nations, and the only gateway to the Spirit World.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already promised someone in my life that I won’t die.”  He says, looking at Lance. Both boys smile at one another, causing Heith to give them a raised brow.  He ignores it and took a drink of what Lance gave him. He gags, and looks at the cup like it betrayed him.

“What the hell is this?”

“Medicine.”  Lance answers like it was obvious.

“It tastes like shit.”

“Well it’s not supposed to be good, it’s supposed to help you.”  He says. “Drink all of it, and get use to it cause you’ll be taking more of it tomorrow.”

“Spirits you must hate me…”  He groans.

“Heh, you are so dramatic.”

“No, I’m stating facts, this is gross.”

“Don’t care.”

* * *

“Romelle over here.”  Shiro says. Romelle launches the ball over at him, Shiro caught it with ease.  “More force.”

“This is too hard.”  She complains. Shiro tosses it back.  She caught it and launched it again, and again Shiro caught it with ease.  “I can’t do it.”

“Yes you can.”  Shiro says. “You’re style is more out there and wild, you need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.”  He tells her, she pouts and tries again. “Again.” She screams in anger.

Lance looks over and chuckles while Matt was adding wings to Romelle’s staff.

“She’s getting so frustrated.”  Lance says in a chuckle. Matt laughs and tries to release the wings.  They popped out, and sprang off the staff. The two watched it spring up and land on Romelle’s head.  She squeaks and turns back to glare at them.

Matt points at Lance, he sees that and gave him a look that screamed ‘bitch’.  She huffs and looks back at Shiro. He airbends the piece back to Matt and went back to teaching.  Coran pokes his head out a window.

“How is everyone?”

“We’re watching Romelle fail.”  Lance says. A violent gust of wind knocked him over, he looks up and glares at the pouting girl.  Shiro sighs and looks down.

“Okay, how about we practice bison flying.”

“Aaaaaaw!”  She groans and walks up to Black, Shiro hops up with her and they began to fly.  Lance and Coran watch while Matt continues to make her staff. Lotor walks out to join them.

“Well everyone seems to be hanging out here.”  He says and leans against the wall. “Where’s everyone else?”  Lance points up. Lotor looks up and sees Shiro and Romelle flying Black, teaching her how to gain the bison’s trust while also teaching her how to fly.  The three watch while Matt looks at the staff to get the wings out. They flung off again, flying into a window and hitting someone else. Hunk throws the wing out in anger.

Matt apologizes and grabs the wing again.  Coran takes the staff and puts the wings on himself.  Matt groans and looks back up.

“You think Romelle will be ready in time?”  He asks.

“Who knows.”  Lotor says with a shrug.  “Shiro is in charge of the air so I say trust him.  He has a plan.”

“Yeah.  What are you planning on doing?”  Matt asks Lotor, he looks over.

“I want to take down the people who killed Narti.”  He says. “I want revenge.”

“You really think she wants that?”  Lance asks.

“It doesn’t matter.  I cannot forgive anyone for killing someone so dear to me.”  He says. “Narti has served the royal family all her life, was loyal till death.”  He messes with his hands, looking down.

“I know she didn’t deserve it, but I don’t want you to regret it.”  Lance tells his friend, knowing what he was planning to do. Lotor gave a rather pathetic look.  Shiro and Romelle land on the ground, looking a little tired. They hop off and walk towards their friends.

“Well you’re getting better… Matt is her staff done?”

“I got it working!”  Coran says, popping his head back out the window.  He tosses it to Romelle, she tries a few airbending tricks with it and nods.  Seems to work. She tried the wings, they stayed. She ran on top of the roof and flew for a good few seconds till they fell off.

Shiro panics, he about caught her but stopped when she used an aircushion at the last second.  She takes a deep breath and sighs. Shiro pauses for a moment before making a decision.

“How about we get you a fan instead.”

* * *

Keith walks into the marketplace with Krolia the next day.  The two have been avoiding each other and it’s starting to bug everyone.  Plus Krolia needs to be filled in on what they’re doing.

“So you’re planning on stopping Zarkon.”

“Yes.”  Keith says as he picks up some fruit.  Hunk made a very long list of things he wants.

“Not saying that I don’t believe in you or your friends.  But there is no way you can stop an evil dictator with a few rebels.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Marmorians have stood against Zarkon for years, and we haven’t even dented his army.  What makes you think an army of nine stands a chance?”

“Cause we’re a powerful team.  We’ve taken down armies with just a few of us.  Three of us took out majority of their air force once.  I trust my friends, I think you should too.” He tells her, she just gave him a rather judgy look.

“I cannot say I agree with that.”  She tells him. “I find your faith as well as theirs cute, but it won’t defeat Zarkon.”  Keith gave her a look, one that screamed betrayal. “You need more than a few children to defeat a dictator.”

“How could you say that?  You are a part of a rebel group!  You stand up against him! What is so different about my friends and I?  Is it because we are all young? Newsflash, Coran isn’t, neither is Shiro, or Matt!  I am not a child either!”

“You yelling at me is more than enough proof that that is a lie.”

“What would you know about me?  You left me!” He snaps, she glares at him.

“I left you to protect you as well as my nation!”  She snaps. “If they found out I was a part of the Marmorians they would’ve surly killed me and taken you away!”

“You still left me alone with Father!  He got taken away from me, I had to live on my own since I was nine years old!”

“How was I supposed to know that that was going to happen?”

“You could’ve taken me to the Marmorian base!  You could’ve taken us with you! Kolivan would’ve accepted me in!”

“How would you know?  And how do you know about the Marmorians?”

“Cause I met them!”  Keith shouts. “They actually treat me with respect and listen to me!  They’re in on my plan on defeating Zarkon!”

“Oh really?  And why would they help a child they don’t know?”

“Big talk coming from you.  They know me better than you!”  He snaps and storms off. Krolia walks after him.

“Keith Kogane you come back here.”

“You are not my mother, you can’t tell me what to do!”

“You did not just say that to me!”  She snaps. “Come here!”

“I said  **back off!!!** ”  He airbends her away.  He glares at her, trying to keep his anger in check so he didn’t go into his state, however he gave himself away.  A crowded marketplace full of people, all staring at him, even a few guards. “Shit.”

“Keith…?”  His mother looking at him with wonder, but also horror.  Though it was cut off when soldiers came at him. He glares and earthbends at them, causing them to topple over.  A few more run in, Krolia’s instincts kicked in and she began to firebend.

No one was going to take her son away, not again.  He can hate her till they both pass, but nothing will stop her from loving him.  Both mother and son were fighting off guard after guard. One stabs at them with a spear, Krolia dodged it which gave Keith enough room to grab it and flip the guard onto his back.  He airbends him away, causing him to knock a few more over. These guys don’t fight much, seeing as how Keith and Krolia were taking them out easily.

Keith looks at Krolia to see if she was still going strong.  She was, a few guards can’t keep up with her and her erratic firebending.  Wild and powerful… just like his. However something she did was not like him at all, something horrific.

She grabs one guard and burned his face to death.  Keith held his mouth, that was gruesome. He grabs his mother by her waist and earthbends underground.  He began to make a tunnel back home, hearing his mother cool down.

“Are you alright Keith?”

“You killed a man.”

“I’ve killed many in my day.  It doesn’t phase me anymore.” She tells him, she could see the hurt on her son’s face.  She sighs. “That look, that’s the look of regret.”

“You feel no remorse?  No guilt?”

“I’ve slaughtered my people.  Am I proud? No, but it was what I had to do.”  She tells him. “I see it, that look on your face… you have your father’s heart.”  He looks at her. “You care for others, wish no harm onto them. That is why you couldn’t stand to watch me kill.”

“Krolia… I’ve killed so many already, the Fire Nation sees me as a monster.”  He looks down. “I… I can’t… I can’t keep doing it. I don’t want to kill anymore, I don’t want to be seen as a killer.”  He says quietly. Krolia walks up behind him and held him tight.

“I see now, why you take this so seriously.”  He could feel her shake, like she was about to cry.  “I am so sorry my baby. I am so sorry…” She started to cry.  “I brought you into a world of burdens. No child should go through what you have endured…”  Keith slowly turns in her arms and looks at her. “I wish I could take this power away from you, so you don’t have to take the responsibility of fighting him.”

She held him tighter in her arms and began to sob.

“Why… why why why, why did Trigal have to become you?! Why not someone else?!  Why my own son?!” She shouts through her tears. Keith slowly brought his arms up and hugs her lightly, not at all like her death grip.

Krolia felt regret, something that Keith didn’t understand.  He didn’t know where her tears came from, why she was so upset with what she saw.  Most parents would be thrilled to see their kid be one in a million, but Krolia saw something different.  It was her baby, her only child, taking on the responsibility of saving the world. He was the only one who can stop Zarkon, the only one who stands a chance against a hundred men.  She doesn’t want that, she doesn’t want him to fight such a dangerous fight.

She cannot control his destiny, he was born the Avatar.  But that was what she was upset about, she feels like she failed him as a mother.  She brought him into the world, she felt responsible for him being the Avatar, for him having this burden to carry.

She can’t control it, but she can help him.  And that’s what she’s gonna do.

* * *

They made it back, they separated without saying a word.  What could they say? They fought and had an awkward moment together.  Keith still is uncomfortable with her, and Krolia has no clue how to make up for eighteen years of absence.  So she went into her room to stay with her husband, the only person who seems to love her still.

Keith sighs and walks to his room.  However something stops him before he walked down the hall.  He heard noises coming from the beachside door, he peeks over to see what was going on.  He sees Lance whispering to Red. He pats the lion’s head. Keith got closer and listens.

“-omise me?”  He asks, Red just flicks an ear and continues to stare Lance dead in the eyes.  Red looks over in Keith’s direction, Lance jumps a bit and looks over. He gave Keith a smile, giving Keith the confidence to walk over.  “What are you doing up still?”

“Could ask you the same thing.”  Keith said with a chuckle, then looks down at the floor, seeing a small bag.  Keith’s eyes grew. “Lance?” Before he could finish Lance gave him a sad smile.

“Don’t get the wrong idea Sweetie.”  He starts, Keith spoke up.

“You’re leaving?”  He asks sadly. Lance nods.  “Why?” He looks down to answer.

“Everyone has a role here.”  He starts. “Everyone is helping out somehow… except me.”

“That isn’t true, you are helpful.”

“Don’t kid yourself Keith.”  Lance says. “I have no role, so I’m leaving.  But don’t think this is me running away.” Keith gave a confused look.  “I have an idea, but you have to trust me.”

“If I’m being honest, I’m not sure if I do.”  He says, Lance smiles.

“Ouch, but I appreciate the honesty.”  He says with a chuckle. He hugs Keith, the Avatar clung tightly, not wanting to let go.  “I have to go.”

“No.”  Keith whispers.

“You have to let go Keith.”  Lance says. Keith shook his head, he’s been with Lance for so long, they’ve never been apart for a long period of time.  He doesn’t know how long Lance will be gone or if he’ll even come back alive.

“Please don’t go.”  He says. Lance lets go and pulls away.

“Remember I can take care of myself?”  He asks, Keith didn’t respond. “I’m gonna be just fine, I mean, it’d be lame if the master of the south couldn’t defend himself.”  He says with a grin. Keith shook his head, he didn’t care, he doesn’t want his family to split up anymore.

“You can’t just lea-”

“Red’s gonna watch over you while I’m gone.”  He says then leans back down to talk to his lion.  “Please watch over him, okay Red?” He asks, Red huffs.  Lance smiles and stood up. He grabs his bag, blowing Keith a kiss, and out the door he went.

Red stays by Keith’s side, looking at him, wondering what his new master was gonna do now.  Keith pats Red’s head and sighs. He prays to the spirits that Lance will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've re written and re written and re written this chapter so many times. Okay so if I'm planning this right there will be two or three chapters left. Almost over! I hope you enjoyed this one and stay tuned for the next chapter.


	26. Peace and Morals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm going through a midlife crisis at 21. -.-;  
> Anyways, next chapter will be the ending of the betrayal series!!!

Pidge launched a snake at the target and was pulled forward.  Lotor and Hunk watch, Coran claps for her. She releases the snake and sat down, taking a deep breath.  Adrenaline, takes a lot out of ya. Keith walks over with Red and sees what’s going on.

“Metalbending?”

“With snakes!”  Coran comments.

“Nice.”  He comments, Pidge smiles at him.  Coran readjusts the snakes and hands them to her.

“Try again, this time swing yourself to the roof.”

“Got it.”  She launched herself again and tried swinging onto the roof.  Lotor started a conversation while Hunk watched.

“So how goes it with Krolia?”

“Oh...her.”  Keith looked down.  “Awkward, I guess.”

“Heh, you guess?”

“I thought my mother was dead, now she’s back and alive.  What’s worse is that she hates me being the Avatar.” He admits, Lotor was taken aback.

“That cannot be true.”

“It is, sadly.”  Keith tells him. “And to be fair, I can kind of see why.”  He looks at the ground, Red nudges his hand, demanding to be pet.  “Who wants a traitor for a son?”

“You and I are in the same boat Keith.”  Lotor starts. “If that is true.” He watches Pidge swing herself around, meanwhile Krolia sat inside with her resting husband.  The room was silent, faintly hearing the chatting outside.

She saw her husband’s eyes flicker, Heith opens them and looks over.

“Hey there Beautiful.”  He says with a smile, she gave him one back and strokes his hair.

“Hello my Dear.”  She responds. “How were your dreams?”

“Not as good as my reality.”  Heith tells her. “Now that I have you and Keith back in my life, I never want to sleep again.”

“Heh, I feel the same way.”  She kisses his head. “I’ve missed you both.  I am so sorry for all the horrible things that have happened to you.  I should’ve taken you both with me.”

“Yer mission was more important than us.”

“Never say that.”  She snaps. “You two are more important than anything in my life.  You and Keith are my everything.” She looks down. “When I had Keith… I felt like my life was complete.”  Heith could hear his wife’s worry. He grabs her hand and gave it a weak squeeze.

“I tried to protect him, it cost me everything.  But I’m glad to know he’s safe…” He sighs. “But now… now I feel like I failed him.”

“I feel the same.”  She says. “I question the spirits.  Why did they choose our son to be the Avatar?”  She asks while she snuggles to his body. “When did you discover it?”

“I saw how powerful he was at firebending.  But what gave it away was when he started to bend water.  However that didn’t stop people from noticing.” He looks at her.  “I failed him more than anyone.” He tells her.

“You saved me.”  The two jumped and looked at the door.  Keith was standing there, Red at his side.  “Everything has happened for a reason. We were all apart of the spirits cruel plan, but it was all worth it in the end.  And look, we’re together again.” He walks in and sat on the bed next to his parents. “I know you both are worried about me, but I promise that I will survive and bring peace to this world.”

“Then we can live together, like we always wanted.  We can be a family again.” Krolia and Heith smile, the three sharing a small group hug.  It’s much more gentle than the major group hug Keith has now with all his friends. He relaxes with his family, the last chance he may have.

* * *

“So I shall join the other benders.”  Krolia told Lotor, he nods and wrote that down on the back of his map.  Lotor and Krolia started planning together and got along well. Meanwhile everyone else was just relaxing.  Keith was leaning against Red. This lion listens to Lance so well.

Shiro walks up and sits next to him.  He was letting Romelle practice with her fan, so he got a break.

“What’s on your mind?”

“This war.”  Keith said. “What will happen when I face Zarkon.”

“Heh, what’s there to think about?  You are going to put a stop to him.”

“Is that what I really want?”  Keith asks. Shiro raised a brow.  “Do I want to kill him?”

“He has to be stopped.”  Shiro says. “You are the only one who can defeat him.”

“But I don’t want to kill him.”  Keith says in sadness. “I-I don’t want to be seen as a killer anymore Shiro.  My whole nation sees me as a sadistic murderer. I can’t stand that anymore.” He says.  “Please understand that.”

Shiro gave his friend a look of concern.

“Then what are you gonna do?”

“I-I don’t know.”  Keith said. “But I’ll figure it out.”  He says, then a gust of wind hit him, his eyes were wide.

“Sorry…”  Romelle squeaks out.

* * *

Keith’s eyes snap open, he looks around, not in his room anymore.  He was on a rock in a lush jungle area. He sat up and rubs his eyes.  Still in the jungle. He stood up and looks around, no use calling to his friends, cause they’re probably not around.  He began to walk, wanting to find out where he was. Then a hand tapped his shoulder. He panics and turned, only to see someone he thought he’d never see again.

“N-Narti?”  He asks. The little firebender smiles, it was her.  Same glassy eyes, same braids, same scar on her body.  Around her neck was a necklace with the wing charm given by Shiro.  Keith was just too surprised to see her. “W-What are you..? You died!”

“D-Did.”  She says, still bad at speech.  “Am in world… like...you.” She says.  Keith paused.

“I’m in the Spirit World… how did I get here?”  He asks, Narti started walking away. Keith saw that and followed.  “Where are you going?”

“Taking… somewhere.”  She says, Keith raised a brow.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Place…”    She says, not a lot of info but Keith took it.  He huffs and follows. Finally reaching somewhere perfect for Keith, a place to meditate.

“What is this?”  He asks, but Narti was gone, she was not worthy of this place.  Keith sat down, then the rock glows, Trigel appeared before him.

“It’s been awhile Keith.”

“Trigel.”  Keith says in awe.  It has been awhile. She gave him an understanding look.  She knew what was bothering him. “You know I can’t keep this up.  The slaughter.”

“That didn’t stop Zarkon.  He was a friend, an ally to me.  He took my husband, my child. If you don’t kill him then you’ll suffer the same fate.”  She says. “You’ll lose your own husband, your friends… your parents.” That got Keith to look up in horror.  He just got his parents back, it’s a second chance to be a family.

“This is your choice, but you need to think about the effect this will have on everyone, your family included.”  Thus she disappeared. Keith sat there, he can’t believe she said that. Keith can’t choose, he has to kill Zarkon.  He shook his head.

No, no that can’t be the only answer.  Someone else has to know. He can talk to his past self, he’s lived countless lives, so one of them has to have a better solution.  He meditates, seeing if he could contact another life of his.

* * *

“What?!”  Shiro asks.  Pidge nods. Everyone around them was equally shocked to hear this.

“I can’t find him anywhere.  Matt and I went out and looked but he’s not outside!  He’s not in the kitchen, not with his parents, he’s nowhere around here!”

“Spirits… we have to start looking.  He couldn’t have gotten far.” Shiro said.  “Pidge, isn’t Green a good tracker?”

“Yeah… wait…”  Pidge smiles. “Genius idea!”  She runs over to Keith’s room and finds something with his scent.  Running to her beloved Shirshu she held the object up, his journal.  “Okay girl, take a big whiff of this.”

Green sniffs what was in front of her, then she held her head high in the sky.  Pidge watches in horror while everyone waits.

“This can’t be…”

“What’s wrong?”  Shiro asks.

“Green… she… she can’t locate his scent.”  She says, Green began to shake and growl. “Woah woah girl!”  Pidge runs up to her friend and pets her. “Easy, easy…”

“Pidge.”  Hunk starts.  “Green has been with Keith for a while, how can she not locate his scent?”

“It’s not that she doesn’t know it Hunk.  It’s just that… she can’t pinpoint his location at all.”

“What does that mean?”  Romelle asks. Pidge doesn’t look up when she answers.

“It means his body just vanished.”  Everyone froze at that, she’s right, that is impossible.  Krolia storms off in anger. She didn’t want to believe what she had just heard.  Lotor walks over and starts to argue.

“That is impossible!  No one can simply just vanish!”

“Don’t yell at her, it’s not her fault!”  Matt snaps. “And what do you mean ‘it’s not possible’?  We’re friends with the freaking Avatar! We have no idea what’s possible or impossible with him!”  The two continue to argue.

Romelle hid in Hunk’s side, she wanted the arguing to end.  Shiro saw his apprentice huddled up into their friend, he got angry and stepped in.

“Will you all stop?  Now is not the time for fighting, now is the time to find our friend.”

“Find someone who isn’t even around?!”  Matt looks at Shiro like he was stupid. “Yeah, let’s get on that.”

Everyone began to argue amongst one another, things weren’t going well.  Shiro looks up at the sky, wanting to know where his friend, his brother was.

“Shiro?”  He looks down at his student.  She gave him a worried look. “What do we do?  Keith is gone now, we’re going to lose.”

“We won’t Romelle.  I know Keith, he’s not going to abandon us now.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have faith in him, have faith in him as well.  We have to trust our Avatar, our friend.” He says, Romelle gave an uncertain look, but trusts her teacher.

* * *

Another Avatar call ended.  He groans in annoyance, this is ridiculous.  All of them are either saying to do the right thing, or to make his own choice.  He needs some advice dammit, actual advice! He stood in his own spot, deciding to cut off all connections and communications.  His past lives weren’t helping him. He about walked away until someone tapped his shoulder.

“You’re giving up now?”  Someone asks, Keith looks over at the stranger.  A man who looked no older than Shiro was staring at him.  He had a huge grin at his face, looking rather happy to see Keith.  Only thing Keith could tell about the man was that he was from the Fire Nation.  So something in common.

“Uh… do I know you?”  Keith asks. He nudges his heads to one side.

“Come with me.”

“O-Okay.”  Keith followed him around the Spirit World, doing a little sight seeing again.  Keith looks at the man, wondering who he really was. “So-”

“I know what you’re going to ask.”  He interupts, then flashes Keith a smile.  “But do you really not know who I am?”

“I’ve talked to so many spirits today, but I can guarantee I’ve never seen you in my entire life… or any of my lives.”  Keith says, the man laughs.

“Well I never made any friends in my lifetime, minus the spirits.  Why they granted me these powers, and why they passed on to you.” He says, it slowly started clicking for Keith, who this man was.  “Names Arih, nice to meet you Keith.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”  He bows. “An honor really.”

“No need to bow to me.”  Arih says as they walk.

“I do!  You’re the first Avatar!  Basically the father, the one who started it!”

“And we share the same being, you and I are the same.”  Arih bows back. “So I should treat you with the same respect.”  That made Keith smile, not everyone gives him that respect. “But back to your main issue.  You don’t want to kill this man?”

“Zarkon has done horrible things, but I can’t kill him.  I cannot be seen as this murderer, even if he deserves a punishment as cruel as death.”  Keith looks down. “It’s pathetic, the monks changed my morals.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”  Arih says. “I think it’s honorable that you don’t want to kill him, you have mercy, and a kind soul.”  The two walk up a pathway, past plants and others spirits. Then they stopped at a shrine like area.

“But no one will help me, and I don’t think anyone supports my decision.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”  Arih looks around, Keith notices and turns to see something amazing.  All his past lives looking at him, Trigal being the closest. In her arms was Rahi, smiling right at him.  Mother and son in the Spirit World. Hei Bai sitting, looking right at him. Tui and La in the sky, giving him hope.  Narti, looking right at him, almost as if she can see.

“They all support you, all know that you will be the one to end the war.  You will bring honor to all of us.” He grabs Keith’s forehead and smiles.  “And this last gift I give to you, will aid you.” Arih smiles, as he starts to fade with the world.  “We believe in you, Keith Kogane.”

* * *

Green’s head shot up, Pidge looks at her while reading.

“What is it girl?”  She asks her dear pet Shirshu.  Green kept sniffing the air, like she was spooked.  “Green?” Just then Green made a weird noise, Pidge hops on her back to calm her down, she started running.  Pidge screaming as her pet goes into some random area.

“W-W-WHAT IS IT?!”  She asks in fear, she notices Red following right next to them, looking determined to follow.  What has gotten into these two?

They made it to an open area in a heavily wooded area, not large enough to be a forest, but decent sized.  Green sat down to let Pidge down, Red walks ahead to someone laying on the ground. Her eyes grew as she ran to them.  Laying flat on his back, the moonlight being the only thing illuminating his skin.

“Keith?”  He opens his eyes and looks over at Pidge, before she could ask anymore questions he spoke up with a smile.

“I-I know how to defeat Zarkon.”


End file.
